We are doing SWI-B for the full 30 weeks. I would double it up and do 15 weeks but I am having both kids do it at the same time. I have a 3rd grader (so I modify) and a 7th grader.

My DH LOVED his time at LETU. He has great memories of the whole experience.

My DH is a LETU grad. I'm hoping DS will want to go there when he starts applying (in 6 or so years. HA!) Congrats to all who have already heard!

This is my local guy! I like him too! I like Denis a bit more because I've been through hurricanes with him!

You're welcome! I love Denis Phillips. He seems to have quite a fan base. LOL! https://www.facebook.com/denisphillipswfts/

Hugs, mama. I have to think that it's worse having one of your children in the storm and not being able to help than you actually being in the storm. You and your daughter should watch Denis Phillips (you can check out his facebook page - it's public so you can see it even if you don't have FB). He's the meteorologist for the ABC station in Tampa Bay and he's the best resource (IMO) for updates. We lived in Clearwater in 2004 and 2005 when the season was very active and I really appreciated his calm, non-alarmist reporting. He has a rule #7 that says: Don't freak out. If I'm not freaking out, you don't freak out. Maybe watching him will calm your nerves a little bit. I still watch him online and I'm in the Panhandle. I can't do any other weather reports or it makes me anxious.

Ugh. If the track is more westward Merritt Island will be in the NE quadrant and that's not good either. Better get your sweet talkin' on! SNAKE-A-CANE!!!!! *shout it really loud, it's fun!

When we lived in the Tampa/Clearwater area we lived in evacuation zone A. We were mandatory evacuated for Charley and went to our designated safe area - Orlando (DH was military). Charley then took a turn and hit Orlando. :closedeyes: From what I've seen of my favorite newscaster from that area - zone A is under a mandatory evacuation, so if they got out a few days ago even better.

I suppose I'm the only one that would cash it and go on a vacation? We're debt free and I would want to do something fun with the money that I could thank them for.

When DH got out of the military he had training at his new job and it was close to where we wanted to move to (across the country from where we were stationed). A house opened up that was at least $30,000 below all of the other houses in the area and had been on the market for 8 months. Looking at the pictures it was clear why, but it was ALL cosmetic fixes (granted, really bad ones that would cost a little fix). DH had a weekend free so he drove over to see it and he and his realtor talked with the owner (a young guy who was really motivated to sell because it was too far away from his job). We had it inspected and it was solid. We put an offer in and got the house. That was 4 years ago. We fixed the cosmetic issues and now have a fabulous (though a little small) house in the exact area of the neighborhood that I would have picked had we rented for a year and then looked to buy. I haven't seen anything anywhere near the price that we paid for it since then. We now have $40,000 worth of equity in the house, so we feel that we got a fantastic deal. It is the ideal situation and one that I was very skeptical about, but DH won me over and I'm glad he did! ETA: Technically, it was sight unseen for me. I first saw the house after we had bought it, driving into town!

Dh is convinced it's coming to the Panhandle. We hate "I" named storms here! I needed to get my hurricane evac box ready anyway. Thanks for the PSA!

PG Tips brand tea with milk and sugar. Repeat about 10 times a day.

I gave mine up 2 years ago and I don't miss it. Friends take extra time out of their schedules to text or call me when there is a homeschool thing going on (I don't ask them to, they just do) so I don't usually miss those. I have found that I haven't needed FB as much as I thought I would before I dropped it. I haven't needed it at all.

This is why I got of FB. Well, reason number one, there were other reasons too. I didn't need to know every minute detail of everyone's political beliefs. I also had a hard time reconciling the vehemence that seemed to spew out online vs. in person. It was changing my views of friends and I decided that the head in the sand approach was the best way to go for me to preserve my sanity.

I am also 5'2" and pear shaped (though quite a bit heavier than you). If your tummy is an issue then I recommend American Eagle Ultra High Waist Jeggings for jeans. They come up higher, camouflaging the tummy, and show off the smaller waist. They also have a "short" option which is what I use. I really like them. Jeggings wouldn't swallow you up. If they're high rise you'll find them to be very comfortable. I really like eshakti (you can google this company for their webpage) - they sell dresses that you can completely customize (I usually just add my height and my normal size). If your top half is a lot slimmer than your bottom half then you want to accentuate that (by either having close fitting to the body then flowing out over the hips or a lighter color on top). I like them because they fit well.

The phrase "no worries". I irrationally hate it. All of my friends use it in texts and in person conversations. It makes me want to gouge my eyes out and rip my ears off. I don't tell them that, though.

Get the Kirkland brand Stretch-tite (hey, I didn't name it!) You will never have this problem again. :hurray:

Right now I only take a B-12 supplement. I just recently started eating a vegan diet and the book that I'm reading recommended taking a B-12 vitamin.

I think of something that I really want to eat the upcoming week and then try to meal plan off of that. For example: Corned Beef and Cabbage (my kids LOVE this!) 1 day this week will be Corned Beef and Cabbage, and another day will use those leftovers to make Reuben sandwiches. Another day this week will be beans and rice. One day beans and rice, a couple of days later bean and rice burritos, freeze whatever is left for taco soup the next week. Since you stated that you'd prefer not to do this then you can freeze the leftovers for both and they should keep until the next week where you can re-purpose them into something like the above. You can turn a single protein into many different types of meals so that's another way to get variety. I keep LOTS of fresh veggies and fruit on hand and look at the whole day's worth of food. If we got lots of veggies at lunch and during the day it doesn't bother me as much if dinner has less.

You should have just broken the pair in half and given her one instead. Oh, you mean you wanted both scissors!?! :lol: I saw what you did there. Ahhhhhh! :coolgleamA: For me it's whistling. Mainly because my MIL, DH and DS all do it. They are all verbal processors so if they're not talking they're singing or whistling. I like quiet. +1 on all of the others except for the color orange. I bear no malice towards it.

Is she sure it's the asthma that's causing it? I weigh 100 pounds more (almost exactly) than the day I got married and I cough often when my reflux is acting up. I have definitely noticed a big difference between how I'm treated by people that I don't know (out and about) from when I weighed 100 pounds less so it doesn't surprise me that people have been saying things like this to your sister. I do think it's shallow if you automatically cross someone off the list because of weight and don't get to know them first. However, I don't think that's necessarily wrong, just shallow. We all have our moments.

6th form in England means a 12th grade (or higher work wise) equivalent, not 6th grade.

Oh this made me giggle, especially this: Okay, we’ve all seen the meme about this one. He’s a 27-year-old dog doula, and she’s a 23-year-old who carves driftwood sculptures, and their starting budget is $1.7 million, but they could go to $1.8 million for the perfect place. I just watched a show today because it was househunters in our area. The young couple just got married (they looked VERY young) and were moving down from Chicago and their budget was $750,000. We bought our house for $188,000. I must admit I was thinking snarky thoughts of them throughout the episode.

I second DK's Geography of the World. It has a quick overview of the countries with some pictures. I was actually surprised at how much information they had on each page.

When I was around the age of 17 I did exactly that. I had an umbrella with me and, upon leaving a post office, noticed that quite a few people were hanging out by the front door waiting for the rain to stop. I offered to walk back and forth to their cars with them and the only one that took me up on it was a middle aged man. I walked him to his car and he thanked me profusely. I remember that day fondly as it's a reminder to me to push myself out of my comfort zone. Now, I'm quite a bit older and have lived in the PACNW and Alaska. I rarely walk in the rain with an umbrella, but if I did I'd definitely offer to help someone who looked like they might need it.