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Brigitte

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Posts posted by Brigitte

  1. Is there anyone on this board with a kid who has suffered a traumatic brain injury? My 11 y.o. dd had a stroke on Jan 6 and we are looking at being discharged from rehab in the next month. I am looking for suggestions and strategies for teaching a child with pretty severe aphasia.

     

    TIA,

     

    Brigitte

  2. I have the Whirlpool basic front loaders that are stackable. When I bought them, I had them stacked to give me more room in the laundry closet. The height was not a problem for me (5'5") and my kids used a stool for getting things out of the dryer. I did end up unstacking them, because I realized that with the front loaders I could put a counter top over them, and I would have plenty of space for folding, storing laundry supplies, etc. That arrangement works better for me.

  3. It is a bit of a fad atm but Greek yogurt is healthier.

     

    People just need to make certain they are purchasing *real* Greek yogurt. Check the ingredients, if it contains cornstarch or other thickeners do not buy it.

     

    Greek yogurt is lower in fat, lactose, carbs and contains more protein than regular yogurt.

     

    :iagree: You really do have to read the labels of all yogurt. There is so much junk in most of them.

     

    My dd who is lactose intolerant can eat Greek yogurt without any ill effects. So, it is all I buy now. Sam's Club sells the Chobani in 12 packs for just under $12. That is a good buy for around here.

  4. Are you going to be gone just for the day or will you be there several days? If it is just Thanksgiving day, I would make do with the garage and walking him or tethering him. If it is several days, I would find a place to board him (if you don't have another family member who lives near your sister who would keep the dog for you).

  5. We heat with natural gas and our highest bills in the winter are about $100. We heat a total of 2000 sqft on three floors. It is much cheaper than a heat pump or oil.

     

    I would suggest the OP get an energy evaluation for the home. Our electric company helps with those and will help offset the cost of modifications that are made to increase the energy efficiency of the home. Also, I would suggest the oil filled space heaters (the ones that look like radiators). I found them to be good sources of heat; they turn off when the room has reached to temp setting; and they don't have an exposed heat source.

  6. My twins were born 12.5 weeks early and are now 11. Instead of a late September birthday, which would have them as 5th graders this year, the have a July 1 birthday, putting them in 6th grade. Academically, they are fine doing 6th grade work. Intellectually, there are times that they are better suited to 5th grade. Socially, they are definitely 5th graders, even the one who has hit puberty.

     

    If I were to send them to school, I would give very serious consideration to putting them behind a year from what we are currently doing. I don't think you should feel any shame in doing the same. I don't think people realize how big an impact the early birth has beyond age 2 or 3.

     

    I say, go with your gut and not with the arbitrary line in the sand drawn by school systems.

  7. I would take it to a dealer and see what they will give you for the car as a trade-in. If it pays off the loan and puts something toward a replacement, I would go for it. We have two aging cars (dh's is in pitiful shape because he doesn't maintain it) and have the bills to prove it. I just spent $575 on a 120,000 mile service and putting in a new theromstat. It was a lot of money to spend, but the car runs well and has a lot of life left in it. Runs like a top now. That being said, earlier this year I spent a lot of money on repairs and I was beginning to think that the time was coming for a new car (car payments might have been cheaper than what I was spending on repairs). Part of the problem was that my mechanic was using after market parts and the parts were defective. He wasn't taking the time to research the problem and he was not that familiar with Saabs. If you are having repeat problems, you might consider taking the car to another mechanic. A new set of eyes might see something different.

  8. At DLI, among other things, the Marines used to have to push an old Bronco, put in neutral, up an almost vertical half mile hill, for PT. Like, 4 at a time, LOL, they were bada$$.

     

    And they looked good doing it in those teeny tiny green shorts :)

     

    Just before I left there the SEALS took over the PT program for the rest of the sailors. It was almost worse than bootcamp. :tongue_smilie:

  9. We got to throw live grenades. Booyah!

     

     

     

    I'm old. There were no pretestsin my day. All you did before basic was sign the paper.

     

     

     

    There is a "Get out of PT free" card. A hundred years ago (early 90s) if you scored really well on your PT tests, you were given a patch and the privilege of doing PT independently. I rarely had to do group PT. I made sure my push-up/sit-up/2 mile run was always good enough to get me OUT of the 5-6 mile runs in group PT.

     

     

     

    Ah, Goodfellow . . .good times! Loved the midnight breakfast and table clearing service. I still think its HILARIOUS that the Air Force has a formal complaint box and mandatory daily safety briefings. Everyone should get to see a roomful of joint service personnel hear about the AF "Critique System" for he first time. Everyone BUT the zoomies about fell over laughing.

     

     

     

    ME TOO! Well, we met there. We got married three years later. We just celebrated our 19th Anniversary. It used to be that DLI had the highest marriage rate in the Army and Goodfellow had the highest divorce rate.

     

     

     

    :iagree:

     

     

     

    My brother informs me that they changed the system and 98 Cs and Gs are now some OTHER number. Oh the humanity!!!!! My brother (said he) tested well enough for Cat iV, but was given French ANYWAY. DH and I (both Cat IV) have had a field day with this one. My brother is either too old for a lengthy DLI stay, or not bright enough to read his scores properly. :lol:

     

    What are the Cat I languages anyway. And does anyone get sent to DLI East anymore? That's a raw deal.

     

    Oh My WORD! Memories....I was engaged just before leaving DLI. I was "Miss Navy" on the Navy float in the Fiesta Del Concho parade in San Angelo. We swore up and down the AF purposely made sure the a/c in the Navy dorm would quit working on the weekends. Married one year after Goodfellow....divorced shortly after he had his second trip to Goodfellow (after his first tour elsewhere, I was reserves after the first trip to Goodfellow).

  10. I managed to spill an entire cup of hot coffee on my netbook this morning. I need to get a replacement asap, but don't really know what to get.

     

    The netbooks are very cheap, but I wouldn't mind a slightly larger screen. 11 or 13 inch screens would be fine, but the 15 inchers start to get bigger and heavier than I want to tote around.

     

    I thought about an iPad, but I don't think it will need to do what I need for work (I am a Realtor and need to be able to edit pictures etc.).

     

    The MacBook Air is very tempting, but too pricey.

     

    I would really like to keep this purchase under $500, since this was not something I was planning on spending money on anytime soon.

     

    I have a desktop, so I don't need anything with tons of memory, storage or computing power.

     

    The stores I have nearby are Sam's Club, Walmart, BestBuy, Target, and Office Depot.

     

    Suggestions?

  11. Okay I have never heard of NPD until I came here, and it seems to come up a lot. I am trying to understand this without diagnosing everyone I know (including myself) as having this. Here are the symptoms from the Mayo Clinic website:

     

    • Believing that you're better than others
    • Fantasizing about power, success and attractiveness
    • Exaggerating your achievements or talents
    • Expecting constant praise and admiration
    • Believing that you're special and acting accordingly
    • Failing to recognize other people's emotions and feelings
    • Expecting others to go along with your ideas and plans
    • Taking advantage of others
    • Expressing disdain for those you feel are inferior
    • Being jealous of others
    • Believing that others are jealous of you
    • Trouble keeping healthy relationships
    • Setting unrealistic goals
    • Being easily hurt and rejected
    • Having a fragile self-esteem
    • Appearing as tough-minded or unemotional

    Seriously?? Everyone I know (including myself) does some or all of these things. Having a fragile self-esteem? Don't most women? Most women I know are painfully insecure. Taking advantage of others? Ummm, tons of people do that. I agree that some of these are concerning but the majority of these symptoms just seem typical of any selfish individual, and can't most of us tend to be selfish if we're really honest with ourselves? :confused: I know a LOT of people (primarily women) who think they are better than others and I have known or heard of a LOT of men who take advantage of others, I'm thinking mostly in a business or sexual setting here. Most women I know struggle with jealousy. "Expressing disdain for those you feel are inferior"...politics, anyone? Don't we all do this to some extent?

     

    Here's another thing:

     

    In contrast, people who have healthy confidence and self-esteem don't value themselves more than they value others.

     

    Really?? People don't value themselves more than they value others? There's a reason there was only one Mother Teresa...the rest of us just don't make the cut. :tongue_smilie:

     

    I do believe my parents have most of these "symptoms" but if I'm honest with myself, I have many symptoms of being selfish as well (maybe since I am willing to admit it and own up to my faults, that prevents me from having this? Whew!) I don't know what to think about it. I'm not meaning to act as if this is not a real disorder, but it just seems the symptoms are very vague and far reaching. Or am I wrong?

     

    I think that if you are capable of reading that list and seeing some of it in yourself, you don't have NPD. Someone with NPD would never honestly admit to fitting any of the criteria.

  12. Update: the landlord halted the fence project. The day after DH told her he wouldn't pay float her the money, she had an unexpected situation that left her short on funds.

    Unfortunatly for us, the back fense and two of the side panels were ruined before she stopped the project. So, the replacement of those sections and their disposal is still up in the air. The guy that does the lawn service said he'd take care of it for free, but that he's busy for 3 weeks (he has 2 jobs, so he honestly is busy).

    I sent a letter informing her that living without a fence for this long is not acceptable, that the nails in the old fence sections are rusted and a hazard to my children and my dog, and asking her to remedy the situation.

     

    We're also starting to look for other places. I hope we can wait till closer to Christmas before we move, but we'll do what needs to be done.

     

    I'm also going to look into the rules about providing heating. If that's something she must do, I will send her another letter.

     

    I feel horribly to be difficult to her, but I NEED the fence up, the nails out of my yard, and some sort of heating for my kiddos!

     

    I am a landlord. Do NOT feel badly for holding her to the terms of your lease. I do without heat and a/c before my tenant does and never would I ask a tenant to do projects for the upkeep of the house. She has some nerve.

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