Your blogs look great! They are clean, simple, and not graphically overwhelming and your Baby Bee is adorable.

Given yours, mine, and Quill's posts, we may have to call the group "The Undisciplined Bloggers." You should write down your experience somewhere. Sometimes when I am working on the house, there can be a long pause in the project. I always forget to write down the small, but important things like, "prime the pre-primed trim anyway, paint one coat before installation. Paint two coats after installation - nails holes disappear." Or "it's really okay to add a few drops of water to trim paint, when it 's 70 degrees or higher to keep brush from dragging." Also, I feel like if I don't incorporate the before and after photos into the story, they'll just be lost in my digital storage somewhere. Did you guys do the work yourselves on your yard? I love reading those kinds of blogs.

Quill, I would love to know what to do with my photos, among other things. Within hours of writing my original post, my 24 yo dd, who has struggled with depression for nearly a decade, called and asked if she could move home - that day! The house is completely torn up as I am painting the great room, the kitchen, and the main floor hallways. We had emptied out her old room and use it to paint our new trim. Our oldest son had already returned home two years ago due to depression as well. It almost take more organization and management skills than when they were little. I am drowning in paperwork along with the home improvement information. The exterior will be painted shortly, but some repair work needs to be done before then. I have phone numbers, contracts, and paint samples everywhere. I know there has to be a better way to do it. I keep hearing how simple blogging is, but it seems like when I follow someone's step-by-step instructions, MY Blogger dashboard seems to be "missing" that particular command they want me to follow. Argh! I get your frustration. I was kind of hoping that if we had a bunch of newbies and a few pros, we could all grow in our skills.

I've kept the blog I have with a grand total of four posts on private for the last four years. The first post from 2013 was about how I was done with homeschooling and at a new juncture in my life. I about died laughing when I read that because my son came back home for school and I didn't actually finish homeschooling until 2016 and of course, I am at a "juncture" again. So you could keep your blog private and play with it. If you fade, you fade. I think. :tongue_smilie:

Driving any distance over 30 minutes with our 3 kids was miserable except when we discovered Harry Potter on tape. The last few years when it was just Sailor Dude and us, everything changed. He loves to road trip, is an excellent traveler, and we dearly miss him this summer while he is interning across country. When you have kids that like to travel and who are competent, responsible drivers, the whole world opens up. Shortly after he got his driver's license, we planned to drive to San Francisco for a week's vacation. At the last minute, dh's dear friend died and he flew off for the funeral. Ds and I did the 10-hour drive and had a blast. I miss him the most when we road trip now. Dh and I send photos all along the way, so we can "share" the drive. He's bummed about missing this trip.

You all are organized and experienced bloggers. Rats!

I am so sorry to hear of her loss. It can be a terrifying disease for those who have it and for those that love them.

For those with more extreme variations and if it not diagnosed, the behavior can seem to be the person's personality. A very dear friend of my dd's was recently diagnosed with bipolar and even though dd has it, it was like someone turned on the light bulb. I don't know how we all missed it. Seen through the illness, so many things made much more sense. "C" was seen as the "wild child" starting in her mid-teens, engaging in risky behavior and pushing the boundaries. "C" and dd's group of friends experienced some devastating tragedies and "C" was always the one to march in with audacity and charm to pull individual group members back from despair and then when everyone was back on track, she'd "derail." Unfortunately, right after her diagnosis, about a month ago, "C" died of an opioid overdose. Her lose is devastating. If you suspect that someone close to you is bipolar or has any other form of mental illness, please reach out and do what you can. You may not be able to do anything, but try. Regrets are hard to live with.

No, I wouldn't take small children. We are driving about that far to see it and attend the festival. It will probably be 100 degrees and we are camping. I love camping, but not with thousands of other people and minimal facilities in hot weather. Area hotels and camping spots have been sold out for months. Everyone has been told to bring supplies with them because there will be a shortage. :tongue_smilie:

Is anyone else interested in forming a social group around blogging and organizing digitally? I am at a major crossroad in my life where we are doing a bunch of work on the house and I am returning to work. I'd love to blog about the house projects, mostly to keep track of what we've done and when and to be able to look back at it. I am reading in the evenings and listening to Great Courses lectures and Audible books while I am painting walls and the new trim and doors. I want to keep track of those and what my thoughts are. I have a private blog, very basic, but don't know how to get it to be like I want it to be. I have so many to-do lists for the house, medical appoints and to-do lists for the family, and all of my job search stuff. The misc. notebooks and pieces of paper floating around the house are making me crazy, especially because we keep shifting rooms around to do work and I lose the notebooks and papers. I'd love to have a place to exchange ideas and to learn new technological skills.

The other posters' experiences align with what my 24 yo dd has expressed. Cycling up makes my dd feel like she is invincible, that she can do anything and do it well. The mania overrides her normal level of anxiety. My dd would tell you that she is convinced that her perception of the world is accurate at the height of the mania. She knows when she begins the trip up and can recognize what is happening, but at the height, she is oblivious to the illness and would be angry with those around her for trying to ruin her "high." As others have written, the "high," the feelings of invincibility, encourage risky behavior financially, sexually, and physically that the person would normally not participate in. She talks fast, shifts gears faster, and doesn't sleep or sometimes eat because "there is so much to do and it's all exciting." On the cycle down, there is a point where cognizance returns and the knowledge of the "crash" creates despair. DD has been ill for nearly ten years now. At one point, I was very frustrated and talking with my own doctor about the effects of her illness on our family and my health. He told me that if dd had cancer, I would do everything in my power to help her. To his way of thinking, her bipolar diagnosis was no different. Dd didn't do anything to "get bipolar" and she isn't going to beat it on her own without medical care and support from those that love her. It is also likely to kill her if she doesn't get those things. That thought has helped me to stay focused on helping her.

Sailor Dude called this afternoon and in the course of our conversation mentioned that he had started working out again after work, but was finding it difficult to eat enough to sustain his workouts without the meal plan on campus. He's about a month into apartment life and says he eats too much frozen pizza. What are some easy favorite meals that a young adult can fix in a short period of time? All of my kids have a difficult time keeping weight on (didn't get that from their mother!) and I want to give ds some good options.

Sailor Dude is spending his first summer in five years NOT sailing. :D He is living his dream in D.C. with an unpaid internship on the Hill. He exchanged pleasantries with Senator Warren this morning and was beyond thrilled. He is finding his tribe and thinks urban life is grand. The Metro drops him off opposite his apartment where he can hang out by the rooftop pool while doing his laundry. I would love to be a fly on the wall when he gives tours since his humor is a bit dry. One of his favorite tours so far was leading a group of WWII veterans.

Thank you for sharing the video. It is difficult not to think in terms of those crew members being sons, young sons, and perhaps a father or two in there. This weekend, we are celebrating the commissioning of our oldest son's dear friend and neighbor that we have known from the time he was five. He is graduating from college with his engineering degree and is a Marine. I am so thrilled for him, but get teary-eyed when I think of the risks taken by those who serve our country. It makes me want G to be seven again, standing on top of the mailbox in his shorts, rubber boots, and holding a squirt gun.

A small LAC that ds applied to about 30 minutes outside of Chicago had an all in expense (tuition, room and board, etc.) of $54,000 for 2016-2017. His merit award was $30,000. University of Oregon's tuition was $26,000 and there would have been no financial aid of any kind. Often, your financial package can include a "grant" that makes up the difference between your EFC and the total costs. Of course, if your EFC is a third or more of your take home income, this is somewhat meaningless. I think our final cost for that school was going to be about $18,000. I wanted to give you a real world example. We do have a large number of kids on this board that have full rides.

My son worked with Sr. Leven for 2.5 years and thoroughly enjoyed his experience. Ds took Ray's AP class, but didn't take the exam because he already had the maximum transferable AP hours for his university and only a 5 would get any credit at all. Ds said that his college Spanish class was lacking in comparison to Ray's classes, in part because Ray offers so much focus on conversation. I would agree with the above sentiment. Our experience with Ray was 100% positive. He does have a dry sense of humor and will tell your student bluntly when they aren't meeting expectations. His teaching style is very similar to the public school AP Biology teacher ds had, who once asked a student who was always 20 minutes or more late, "Why do you bother?" Both teachers have been teaching AP for a long time and they expect students to take responsibility for their work (like a college class) with no excuses.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: They want small talk, unless they are a really good friend who genuinely cares about your child. A good, compatible therapist is a major step. I hope you find one soon.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: I am so sorry, Eight.

I have asked you all a lot of foolish questions over the years, but this one might take first prize or at least the circumstances are rather embarrassing. We built our daylight basement 24 years ago. At that time, the main floor and the laundry room in the basement were finished. All the rest of the basement was concrete slat. We have SLOOOOOWLY finished off the downstairs as the money became available, while raising three kids. The interior doors upstairs are stained, flat doors, similar to these from Home Depot. The trim is just your very basic builder grade trim. When we got to the point of installing doors and trim downstairs, we decided to install craftsmen style trim with 4-panel molded doors that have a wood grain texture. The doors are incredibly easy to handpaint and to touch up. They also look more balanced with the simple trim than the 6 panel doors look. The idea was then to upgrade the main floor with new matching doors and trim. We just found out that we moved so slowly on the doors and trim, that Jeld Wen no longer makes the doors we used. I have done two of them upstairs and have 6 to go including two sets of bi-folds. :tongue_smilie: Our choices are as follows: 1. Pick a new door style and redo both floors. $$$$$ 2. Go with Jeld-Wen's new 4 panel door that is a bit more contemporary looking and has a smooth surface, which means having the doors spray-painted. Replace only the main floor with smooth doors, while the lower level has textured doors. 3. Home Depot found a manufacturer who can custom make a four-panel molded, textured door very close to what we have. It's about $300 a door. I would just replace the doors upstairs that are not already done. 4. Make the upstairs doors 6 paneled and textured - easiest, cheapest option, but downstairs would remain 4 panels. When we go to sell in a few years, how crazy will it make people to have different doors? Which option would you choose? Will I care about this in a year?

Please do not quote I wasn't sure what to call this thread, but my thought is to exchange ideas on how we keep our young adults moving forward in a positive direction, how we help them see "light" when things are dark. Yes, I know it begins in early childhood and how we train them, but sometimes life throws some very ugly curve balls. My own heart is so heavy right now. I have posted before about a dear group of friends that my dd has known since she was 12. Four years ago or so, this group of young people seemed to have the whole world before them and in one night, a car full of drunk teens forever changed the trajectory. My dd called yesterday morning to let me know that the young woman in the group who had done so much to keep the others from self-destruction after the loss of one young man to an accident and the subsequent suicide of his younger brother, had herself succumbed to an overdose, which they think was probably suicide. This is devastating news and I am so scared for the young people that are left, including my dd. How do we foster resiliency in our young adults?

I did what Julie did. However, my descriptions for Maya Inspektor's AP English classes both tended to be a bit long as I added the reading list. Also, given that my son's focus is on foreign policy and national security, I listed the Peace Institute essay as the topic was security sector reform.

This is doable. I did go ahead and get the bookcase. They are $200 new and I picked it up for $115 in really great shape. The shelves are still straight, so that's good. How much did you load the shelves that sagged?

I am feeling rather dense today and I am not exactly sure what you mean here.

My 15s hold Campbell Biology and massive art history texts with ease, but these 31s with the glass doors are like a siren call because I have replaced some old college paperbacks with vintage leather or Folio Society volumes that I would like to protect a bit better. Also, the price is good. :tongue_smilie:

I have several IKEA Billy bookcases in the 15 3/4 x 79 1/2 size. They've been great and easily hold larger, heavier volumes. Tomorrow, I am going to look at a used one in the 31 1/2 " wide size that has the glass doors on it. For those of you that have the Billy bookcases, do the shelves on the wider units sag? I have a lovely set of bookcases in the living room that are roughly the same size and those shelves don't sag, but they are real wood. I was actually wondering if I would be better of just buying two more slim units and adding doors if that's an option. I haven't had glass on my bookcases before, but I am tired of dusting my better volumes. Any thoughts on this or experiences with the wider units? I fill the shelves vertically, but don't stack more books on those horizontally if that makes sense.