Why is it ridiculous?

No, I'm not tired of celebrities coming out.

Um, if the pup were a female, my husband might think this is me during a certain time of the month. :tongue_smilie: (I admit that I am that way.) (Dang age and hormones!) This is one of my beautiful border collies, Tesla, yes named after the Tesla because my DH is an electrical engineer. I should change so I show off both my beautiful pups, and perhaps my son, but I love this picture.

If I'd have found that, I'd still be screaming. Most assuredly I'd be popping an Xanax. :ack2::scared::svengo:

I'll second a Bunn. We've had Bunns for over 20 years. They last, and we drink a lot of coffee. (I'm a decaf gal at this point, or half caf in the morning) We're on our third Bunn. I've always liked Folger's coffee best. We've tried expensive brands, grinding our own beans, etc., but I always go back to Folgers. Black Silk is my favorite. I mix it with Folger's decaf. I'm boring, but at least I know what I like. lol

Yesterday I was cleaning out the school room. We have too much to fit on the bookshelves -- four alone in that room. So I gathered all the outgrown books. Then I didn't have anywhere to put them. So I grabbed a bunch of laundry detergent boxes that I save. I put them in the boxes and piled the boxes in my school room closet. I'll get around to selling them one of these days. (And they'll smell very clean, to boot! lol) I bet I boxed up over 100 books. Now all our current, age-appropriate books fit on the book shelves. We have many, many bookshevles in this house. Most are double stacked full of books. When we can't double stack, I make DH go through his and I go through mine, and we take what we cull to our library for their book sale. I hate getting rid of books, though.

Happy Birthday!!! My Dad's birthday was the day before mine...he always joked that he got the birthday cake and I'd get the leftovers. I always got my own, though! Happy birtyday to your son tomorrow!

You can't compare 72-year-olds, it's like comparing apples to oranges. Everyone ages differently.

I went to the link and looked around. I would love to try a mattress and most definitely a pillow. As I was at their website, I noticed they're in Harmony, MN. I live about two hours from there. Harmony is an Amish community. I wonder if they have Amish ancestry. I haven't been there in a few years, but what a good excuse to go visit! Thanks for sharing.

I lost my mom in 1993. She was 59, I was 28. My son didn't come along until 1995, so he never knew her. The first two years after her death were a living hell for me. It is when I quit going to church because I did reach out to my pastor and he was so rude, so unkind, and so cruel that even my husband decided we were done. You are mourning. Your faith is there, it's just clouded because you're hurting. My faith never left me, even though I was let down by the pastor. I went to my doctor, who prescribed Paxil. That helped a little. I was able to function better. I lost my Dad this past May. This is a different hurt. He wa 82, so he had a good, long life. But now I'm faced with: I have no parents. I have no "home" to go to. I looked around my kitchen and decided, d'uh, this is home now. Isn't that weird? Maybe we should start a support group for those of us who have lost a parent and are hurting. I had a panic attack Thursday, and I thought I was doing better. All my stress now is related to losing Dad. When I'm hurting bad, I go watch a sunset. That brings me closer to God, because I can see His handiwork. I get in touch with nature, because that's the perfect way to see and be reminded that God is real. That is my church. Before I know it, I am praying. Hugs.

It is MOST helpful! Go ahead and send it. When my FIL died, we got lots of cards with money. It was very helpful and appreciated.

Newer crockpots cook at higher temps than older ones. I hope my 1989 wedding gift crock never breaks for that reason. Something to do with food safety and regulations, yada yada. Don't open the crock when things are cooking. Leave it set until you're ready to serve. I have tried a few chicken dishes that came out dry, and I just assume it was the recipe, because most of my recipes come out moist and yummy. My favorite way to cook a roast is to put the roast in, pour about a half a pot of coffee on top, add my favorite seasonings (usually garlic powder, a bay leaf and a little salt and pepper) and let it cook all day. It's never dry, and it's yummy. Keep trying, you'll find some good recipes. Switch them to low if you're cooking all day long.

No, because it is SO important. When I get overwhelmed, I just remember how many people have died for us so that we can have freedom of speech and the right to vote -- so, no, I do not get tired of it.

Dad had a heart attack in March, spent two weeks in the hospital. Was moved to skilled nursing facility until he developed pneumonia. Was in a different hospital a week. Then we finally got him into the VA, where he passed away. (Wonderful place.) The VA was totally free, as he was a WWII vet. The two hospital visits alone, without doctors, tests, physical therapy, etc., were $240,000. All told, dad's health care from March to May is gonig to cost well over a half million dollars. Medicare doesn't pay it all, not even close. I thank God every single day that my father was the chairman of his union and fought like crazy for and won excellent insurance. His insurance picked up what Medicare didn't pay -- almost. We're still going to end up paying some out of pocket, but it could have been so much worse. I was hospitalized while my Dad was (panic attack--go figure, after watching his heart attack and starting CPR and having my precious son in on that, too) and I had to pay about $2,000 out of pocket for my little episode. It's scary. We have good insurance. But all it would take is ONE thing: one big medical issue, one accident, one -- anything, and we'd be in fiancal ruin. Dad's bills have really opened my eyes. He was lucky, because he had his excellent insurance. But the elderly shouldn't have to fork over their live savings due to illness. And the rest of us shouldn't have to rob Peter to pay Paul to get by with ordinary medical expenses.

I've read two, possibly three: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, The Color Purple and I think I read Huckleberry Finn as a teen, but I'm not sure. On our reading list this year is The Chocolate War.

Are grandparents important? That's a great question. My mother died before my son was born. She was a hands-on, spoil -'em-rotten type grandma. She also was a grandma who insisted the mothers didn't know what they were doing and was constantly calling children's organizations to discuss all the horrible things here daughters were doing to their children. Truthfully, there was some honesty in that, parenting skills weren't that good, but my Mom's passive aggressive behavior did not help anything. When I brought my son home from the hospital, I sat nursing him thinking of my mom. I loved her dearly, but I remember it just hitting me: I'm so glad that she is not here because I will not get the scorn that he had dished out to my sisters. To this day I still believe that. She would have been livid about the homeschooling. So, it was a bad deal. Now my Dad was a great grandpa. He wasn't a lovey-dovey kind of guy, but he really cared about his grandkids. He had a special bond with my son because dad was an engineer for the Union Pacific railroad for over 40 years, and my son had a serious love of trains. We saw Dad once a year. My son adored him. My son and I drove two days to help him with surgery this past spring. A couple days after the surgery, he had a heart attack at his kitchen table. In front of my son and I. My son was so brave, helped me get Dad to the floor, and participated as I started CPR. It effected him profoundly. After Dad got out of the hospital from his heart attack, he was moved to a skilled nursing facility, we had to go home. As Dad got worse, Thomas and I went back to visit. I hadn't wanted to take Thomas because I felt it was just too much emotionally. He insisted. He LOVED his Grandpa. We stayed two and a half weeks until my Dad passed. My son visited every day, asked Grandpa lots of question, and the two just enjoyed each other's presence. My son wouldn't have had it any other way, showed amazing maturity, and really just loved his Grandpa. He misses him greatly. The bond they had had a great influence on my son's life. For what it's worth, my Dad HATED homeschooling, but had the grace to not say that in front of my son. lol Now my husband's parents are/were a different story. I don't think my husband's father, a man of few words, said three words to my child his entire life. I think that Grandpa liked my son, but there was just nothing. When he passed, it was the first memorable funeral my son attended. It was the concept of death that he learned from, and he didn't so much mourn his Grandpa because there was no relationship. My MIL? She doesn't even ask to speak to Thomas when she calls. One time when all the grandkids were at her home, she got them all an ice cream cone but my son. When my son saw them all with ice cream, he went in and asked his Grandma for one. She said, "I'm tired, if you want ice cream, ask your mother." I overheard the entire thing, grabbed my husband and told him what happened, and my DH made a very loud showing of getting our son ice cream. He was making a point to his mother. So, in that case, the grandparent thing is detrimental. My cousin, who is my best friend in the world, is my son's true Grandma figure. When we visit, she takes him in the kitchen and bakes pies. She talks to him. She shows interest in him. She makes him feel special. It warms my heart. I do think every child needs "someone special" and my Dad was his male someone special, and my cousin is his female someone special. When DS was in public school, they used to have grandparent day. All kids invited their grandparents. I hated it! it was unfair to those children whose grandparents didn't live in town. My Dad couldn't come, and my hushand's parents we didn't even bother to ask. So I don't think it's a grandparent thing. I just think it's great for every child to have a someone special besides their parents in their lives.

After watching my Dad have a heart attack this past March, starting CPR, etc., a few days later I had a massive panic attack that was so bad I ended up in the hospital overnight. (I was two rooms away from my Dad!) When I got home, my doctor diagnosed me with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and gave me some Xanax. I don't take it very often at all, but when I need it, it's fantastic and has made a huge difference in my life. I take Ambien, although I am weaning myself from it. I've been on Ambien for a few years. I have not been diagnosed, but believe I have Seasonal Affective Disorder. Alcoholism runs very strong in my family. My brother is a recovering alcoholic for about 20 years now, but is a mean and nasty dry drunk. My sister is an active alcoholic who dosen't think she has a problem. Apparently she's just relaxing by drinking a 12-pack of beer every night. :eek: This is why I don't drink.

I don't see why this is a travesty if they read that much in the afternoons! I've got a child who won't pick up a book on his own, so I have to assign reading. Once he gets going, he doesn't like to put the book down, but I have to get him going. Our library trips are funny: He picks the first book he sees and is ready to go, now. So every year I make a list of books I think he will like, and he picks from the list.

I have an HP 4 Plus LaserJet that I bought in 1995 for over $1000. I was a court reporter and printed thousands and thousands of pages. It is still running strong and works great! Mine is older than my son!

My Dad died May 17 this year. As we were driving home from the airport, my son said, "I feel like a part of me died." So do I. I'm getting over the grief and starting to remember fondly. It stinks, though. I lost my mom 15 years ago. I miss her, too. To crib chick, the song that played in the car after mom's death was Take This Job and Shove It. lol I think of her, and that time, whenever I hear that song--oh, how I wish it could have been a more profound song. lol Hugs Frankie

Wow, same here. We just quit organized religion altogether, though. We call ourselves just plain Christians, but neither my husband nor I could handle the "can't-pray-with-other-Christians" doctrine from the WELS. He grew up in the church, moved 400 miles from home when he was in the 9th grade to attend their private high school. His parents wanted him to be a pastor. He never had the temperament for that. That said, I hold my religious beliefs tightly and probably have some beliefs that others would find questionable. We're the blacksheep, too, and get lectured from his family. Oh well. We're both pretty stubborn and let it roll off our backs.

I agree with Audrey. Tummy sleeping is not recommended due to SIDS. My cousin's grandson died of SIDS a few years ago and he was a tummy sleeper. My son slept on his back and he never had a flat head. And for what it's worth, he would scream bloody murder if we swaddled him! lol

I didn't know that. Our Wal-Mart opened a year ago here. (Small town, huge thing to have a Wally World.) My husband buys meat there, and I can always tell it's Wal-mart beef. I can't stand the taste of it. We solved that problem, though, as we just bought our first side of beef.

I read The Pioneer Woman daily, too, (and love it) but I don't consider it a homeschooling blog at all. Yes, she homeschools, but that's not what her blog is about. I don't have just one favorite homeschool blog, so I really can't answer the original question. I use bloglines and I am subbed to many. I read them daily (or as often as the bloggers post.) I check bloglines daily, I should say. I tend to prefer the "real-life" blogs, meaning those that talk about the good, the bad, the ugly of their homeschooling lives.