Thanks for sharing that, Cammie. I'm a pretty open person and have a tendency to go that direction naturally. I was wondering if it would hurt us or help to explain in details though. Your comments give me encouragement to go ahead. I'm a pretty good writer and we have everything documented well, so I think I'll start thinking about putting this together during the summer while I'm not busy teaching. Again, thank you. Blessings, L*cinda

What types of illustration are you talking about? Are you simply manipulating photographic images? If so, then Gimp is an option, as would be Adobe Elements or Photoshop if you're talking higher end stuff. But when you say illustrator programs it implies that you are looking for a vector program that creates postscript images. If that is the case, then the best program is Adobe Illustrator. That is a professional level graphic design software that is usually used along with Photoshop and a page layout program like In Design or Quark Express. Sorry, that's the full answer. But I come from a graphic design and fine arts background and that's my world. Blessings, Lucinda

Been there. Tried that. During the past three years we've applied and applied for programs. The banks are just not doing a whole lot to help people that fall behind other than give you some time to get back on your feet again, but the arrears part is what hurts most people. Home modifications are supposed to be helping people, but they are few and far between. And then there are some real cons from 3rd party companies out there too that say they can work with your bank to get it through faster, so you do have to be very careful. We got swindled by one company that offered to help, and they seemed so legit. But fortunately they were shut down by the FTC before they had collected all of the funds that were required. After a long legal process, we are on a list of clients that will get at least part of our money back. If anyone reading this is in this type of situation, do not -- I repeat DO NOT -- try going through a 3rd party organization that offers to help you get a loan modification. I've filled out so much paperwork during this whole deal; waited for answers only to have my hopes dashed to the ground. Both dh and I are done with this emotionally. We need to move on. Blessings, L*cinda

Thanks for the comments JessyC. We aren't ruling that one out, I just didn't mention trying to sell it first. In fact, the short sale is our first choice and we'll only allow it to foreclose if that doesn't work. Whatever the case, we know we'll be moving next year one way or another and we'll still have a bad credit rating. Blessings, L*cinda

Hello fellow Hive members, As some of you know, dh and I have been through a lot because of three winters in a row with his long seasonal lay-offs as a truck driver; permanent lay-offs and gaps of unemployment and then finally dh's stroke last year that resulted in the loss of his livelihood when they revoked his CDL for health reasons. We have really been through the wringer thanks to the economy and then dh's health issues. Needless to say, our credit is shot. We've been trying to avoid foreclosure of our home, but we're getting tired of the fight. It is an older home that we bought with hopes of renovating, and although we've done a lot to it there is sooooo much more that needs to be done. It gets depressing looking at it all of the time when you have no money available to do what needs to be done. And then there's the current market. At this time our home is worth $40,000 less than what we owe on our mortgage. (We just had a cost analysis done by our friend the real estate agent and it made us just sick.) So, saying all that, we just recently decided to give up on the house and let the bank take it back next year. We are currently on a special plan with reduced mortgage payments, so we're going to save up as much money as possible for the next six months. After that we'll have to find a rental. In many ways I'm happy about this because we need a fresh start. There has been so much hardship endured while living here, so it would be wonderful to leave this place and all the memories behind. I do hate losing home ownership status, but I realize that that is not a ticket to happiness all in itself. Dh and I feel that staying here will only drive us further in debt in the long run and so we need to let go. He's retraining for a different career and will be through with it in January, so the timing seems right to make this change. Yes, a totally new start up ahead is exactly what we need. The biggest issue for us is in all of this though is going to be our destroyed credit rating. We will need to find a home that will not only allow us to keep our dog and cat, but we'll have to find a landlord that will work with a family with credit issues. Does anyone have advice? Have any of you been through this too? It would be so great to have a plan in place before we actually start looking later this year. This is both scary and exciting all at the same time. Blessings, L*cinda

I have three grown ds's and cannot imagine not buying them a birthday gift. It's never a big gift because I'm not well off, but celebrating the day they were born is something I can never stop doing. I also buy my dd-i-l a birthday gift because she's just like one of my own. At Christmas we've gone to drawing names for gifts, but birthdays are another story for this mom. Blessings, Lucinda P.S. If thinking of the right gift is hard for you, then buy a gift certificate to one of their favorite stores. In my family, we love that. And honestly, Amazon is a great place to spend money and it seems you can't lose with that one.

Still praying, Bee. Praying for wisdom, strength, and that with God's help this will all turn around to something unbelievably amazing. Remember, He's there with you in the center of it all. Just know that I'm praying for you, for your dh and your kids every day. Blessings, Lucinda

I don't know if you're interested in individual state studies or not, but if you are these might look good to you. AOP offers these state studies in their Switched-On-Schoolhouse series, and although I've never used them myself I've had my eye on it for quite sometime. You haven't listed your dc's ages, but these are designed for middle through high school level. Hope this helps. Blessings, Lucinda

That's pretty much what we've already done due to dh's seasonal lay offs and a final job loss this past winter. Right now while he's retraining and back in school (while we're depending on unemployment benefits), we have a monthly food budget of $400 for 4 people. We've cut back on meat for one thing, eating smaller portions than ever before and having meatless meals at least 1-2 times per week. We're eating more whole grains, nuts, tofu and legumes and thankfully these things are less expensive than all of the meat we used to buy. What meat we do buy is most often what's on sale that week. We also use leftovers for breakfast or lunch the next day. We still buy local produce as much as possible, but we gave up our CSA share and the organic veggies we were buying. I really miss all that, but when it comes down to it we have no choice. We avoid buying prepared foods and stick with fresh foods made from scratch. We drink more water and hardly any juice and pop, although I do brew tea for both hot and iced tea drinks. I've personally cut back on the amount of milk I drink and ice cream I eat. This is all better for me anyway. There are ways to cut back and save a lot of money. You just have to plan really well and be willing to sacrifice here and there. Blessings, Lucinda

:iagree: :iagree: I was about to type the same thing when I happened to read this post on the thread. Yes, don't be deluded into thinking that diluted ice tea is tasty! Blessings, Lucinda

I've noticed that this comes up a lot on these boards. I've done some research of my own here with the Hive and also directly with Saxon because we're faced with what to do next after 87 as well. This is what I've found: Algebra 1/2 was written and published before the new edition of Math 87 was available. It was intended to be used between 76 and Algebra 1 as a pre-algebra course. Once 87 came around it wasn't necessary to do Algebra 1/2 because pre-algebra is included in 87. So if your dd has completed 87 successfully, she should be ready to go right into Algebra 1. Both Algebra 1/2 and Math 87 are pre-algebra courses, so to do both would be way too redundant and could possibly make her dislike math even more. Here is a link to a good thread from the past that addresses some of this and might be helpful as well. Blessings, Lucinda

Wooo hoo, Justin! Thanks for the update. I've already sent my e-mail request thanks to your post. Blessings, Lucinda

The last time this conversation came up I recall that the spring date for next year is for the hardcopy release, but that PDF files will be available in the late fall. If that isn't the case, then I need to know ASAP so I can figure out Plan B. I've been thinking about Creative Writer through PHP until WWS2 is available, but we really don't want to do that unless we have to. Dd will be completely depressed if WWS isn't available for her for 8th grade. She completely loves SWB's language arts programs, and this will be our last shot at it since she'll be going to a private high school the following year. Blessings, Lucinda

See where my mind went? I thought she was using it as a tEa supplement. :D Lucinda

That's exactly what I did with Wordpress.com, so I already own the domain that I want. Now the issue is transferring my domain name it to another website. Thanks for the info though. I did get some help from others here. Blessings, Lucinda

Gosh, I'm sooooooo glad that I have entered this discussion! Between your replies on the thread to my comments and questions and the awesome help of Wendy through pm's, I have enough info to get my own website up to snuff. Thank you, everyone, so very much for pointing me in the right direction. I just hope the op has gotten as much as she needed as well. Blessings, Lucinda

First of all, Saxon 8/7 includes Pre-Algebra so there should be no need to repeat it unless he is struggling and not getting the concepts and hasn't mastered basic math. His next step after completing 8/7 level would be to move on to Algebra I. I wonder if you couldn't have him finish 8/7, but don't do all of the mixed practice. Instead have him focus on the lesson practice and the tests. As long as he passes the tests with 80% or above he could move on. You may also want to supplement with Khan Academy for review and reinforcement, and then keep him going at least part time over the summer with that. My guess is that if you were able to finish off 8th grade successfully by doing this, you could then place him in another program for Algebra I next year, perhaps even using the video tutor program that was pointed out to you currently on sale with Homeschool Co-op. Personally, I feel that anytime we've dropped something and don't complete the year it leaves us feeling like we failed. If I were in the same situation as you, I'd probably modify (as described) but persevere to the end and complete it. That way he'd get the most he can out of what he's been doing and have a good feeling about finishing what he started - even though he wasn't particularly fond of it. He'd then be ready to start with a different program for 9th grade. Blessings, Lucinda

Thank you, Rachel. I was aware of some of what you say, but still trying to figure all of this out - especially since there are so many references to Blogger in this thread. Now unless I'm in the dark about something else, Wordpress.com and Blogger are both similar in that they offer free blog/website templates and hosting. So if that is correct, then it appears that I'm not the only one that isn't on the same page in this discussion. :lol: Blessings, Lucinda P.S. Now if anyone can suggest how I can transfer the domain name I have purchased as an add-on to my Wordpress.com account over to a site where I can monetize and use PayPal, that would be awesome. I don't mean to hijack this thread, so if that is too far off in the discussion please do send me a pm.

I really like the looks of Garcia's books, and I was happy that there is a choice for G-D Italics style too. For my 8th grade dd studying modern history, there is a G-D book available for the price of $23. Very cool! Thanks for the recommendation. Blessings, Lucinda

You didn't say anything at all about WWS. Is there a reason you're skipping that choice? One thing I'd recommend about it is that it includes sections from stories that the student reads first before writing. I think it is a thorough, yet gentle writing program. Have you used any of the WWE books with this ds? If not, then maybe start with WWE4 and move up to WWS next year. With that I think your listed spelling program and a good grammar program would be great. BTW, we are going to use Grammarlogues next year and it looks amazing. The program, like WWS, uses actual literature to teach the grammar, and it is an interactive computer based program that makes grammar much more fun for students. HS Co-op has it for sale until the end of this month, and the discount is currently 40% off. Here's a link to learn more about it. I was just thinking that your ds might enjoy something different for part of his LA curriculum. Just a thought... Blessings, Lucinda

SWB's writing programs are outstanding. I've seen my own dd's skills increase dramatically since using WWS. My only regret is that I didn't start her on WWE when she was younger. Blessings, Lucinda

Can you explain more please? This may be confusing to others as much as it is to me. Lucinda

I have been using WordPress with much success for the past few years and am happy with the choices of template designs as well as ease of putting it all together. I think it's a good, free source for folks from any level of technical ability and they offer plenty of resources for support, help and learning. The only downfall for me personally is that I missed the fine print when I signed up more recently to use WordPress for a new website I've set up to promote my private teaching. I didn't realize until afterward that I would not have the ability to monetize the website in any way. I had signed up and had already become an Amazon affiliate (and also want to be an affiliate for some art supply stores), but after setting up my site with WordPress and even buying a domain name I found out that WordPress does not allow widgets for affiliates' use. I'm not sure about using PayPal, but it appears to me that if you are in need of anything for payment or profit, they are not set up to accommodate your needs. So if you had it in your mind like I did, to add anything of that nature to your site, then I'd say Blogger or another free blog/website source would be a better fit. It's a bummer too because WordPress templates are of much better quality in my opinion than any others I've seen. Blessings, Lucinda

Same here, exactly. Blessings, Lucinda

It was heartbreaking to say the least, but I felt I had no other choice. My dog was miserable and needed to be released. I opted to sit with him, and the vet gave me some minutes prior to the injection. It was very hard, and it took me a long time to get over losing that dog. Not because of having him put down, but because I loved him so much and I needed to grieve. Blessings to you, dear one. These are moments in life that we sometimes just have to walk through. Lucinda