We used to live half a mile walk to the ocean in Northern Oregon. We had lots of town hall meetings on what to do when the big one hits. It certainly was a big deal when we lived there.

That's better than my DH's new phrase that he adds to everything: "and stuff" He's a highly educated person but I've noticed that he seems to use lots of filler words, with the above phrase being the most frequent used. Drives me crazy. I think he does it out of nervousness, however.

My DH was in the Coast Guard and we were stationed in Alaska so we've driven across the country twice. Taking a week to drive across is not going to leave any time to see anything other than the inside of your car and interstates. I would recommend what the PP's have suggested which is to pick a destination and stay there to explore. Alaska is a really neat state to visit. It's also very expensive, especially in the summer (which is when you'll want to go! LOL!) That would probably eat up most of your budget. It is definitely worth it, however.

We have been landlords before in a house that we owned previously then had to move because DH was military. Being a landlord is stressful to me, having a house I can go to at the drop of a hat isn't! HA! I like the idea of deciding to come to the coast on a whim and having everything as I left it. We could VERY easily rent our house out to cover the mortgage/taxes/insurance as we bought the smallest house in a great neighborhood. Do I want to have the stress of being a landlord again (even with a property manager) is the question. I'm not so sure.

We have a home in a vacation area, but it is our primary (and only!) residence. :lol: If we move away I'd love to keep this house so that we could come back to the beach for vacations. It's possible for us that we could pay the mortgage off (it's small) and do so. That will take a lot of years, though.

I read this thread yesterday with interest. When DS was in school he would bite all of his erasers (and some erasers of his neighbors :glare: ) into little tiny pieces. He'd also fidget quite a bit and the teacher made accommodations for him. I'm sure if he was in school he'd probably have one of these. Thankfully, at home, we take lots of breaks and can accommodate in other ways. I was still thinking about it when I took DS to baseball practice. Lo and behold, one of these fidget spinners was brought out by one of the kids and another walked over to his mom and asked him to get one too! Then one of the other dads said that he just ordered one for his child because the child was bugging him about wanting one. It made me smile and think of this thread. I guess it is pretty pervasive if it's happening here.

Thank you for this reply! We have been doing modified IEW this year with what I remember from our co-op (I don't have the TWSS) and using our own source material. I have the money this next year to purchase either the TWSS or the SWI and I was leaning towards the SWI as DS would probably prefer the instruction from Pudewa. I'm glad to hear that the SWI alone worked for you!

I agree with you! Looks like I have lots of reading ahead of me. Thanks Lori!

I'm a TCK (Third Culture Kid) as I'm British, but moved to the US with my parents when I was 10. I lived in a home with British parents but went to school in American culture. I don't feel fully part of either culture. After DH and I got married my parents moved back to England. I'm now the only person in my family that lives in the US. There are a lot of differences between the UK and the US and for me they are hard to put into words. A friend, whose daughter studied abroad in Scotland last semester, told me that it's like Bizarro World in the DC comics. Where everything looks similar but it's just a little bit different or off. I do enjoy the program Very British Problems on Netflix. It describes, to me, the British culture quite well. There are differences even within the country itself, however. I'm from the North and the culture is quite different from the South, but still very British.

I'm so sorry to read this. Sending you lots of hugs. I have a father who is very much like your husband so I have only a slight inkling of what you're going through. Having it be a husband must be so draining. Be kind to yourself.

Not the OP, but thanks for this! My DD knows the work and gets all of the problems correct and I was wondering if there was a way to go through it faster. I'll look up the posts!

....and that's why I should read threads before reading the first post and answering!

We live close to a mobile home park and something my husband said has always stuck with me. "Just because the people living here may be low income doesn't make them worth any less or bad people". Bad people in this instance meaning anything less than honest and hardworking. It really started me thinking about socio-economic bias.

The point of pullups for us was so that my older child who continued to wet the bed didn't feel more demoralized than he already did by having to wear diapers that looked like what a tiny baby used. ;) I think that, like most things, if they don't make sense to your family then that's wonderful. I don't, however, understand why anyone would make blanket statements about their usefulness if other families use them.

Huge congratulations are in order!!! My DH wanted to be a pilot from a small boy as well and is a Naval Aviator. He now flies large helos for a private company. The military set him up for a wonderful career.

Location, Location, Location. :lol: Don't get me wrong, there are some house features that I'd prefer, but being in the right location for my family really does mean the most to me. If it was between the perfect location/not great house or the perfect house/not great location I'd pick location almost every time. I do think that most houses, given the right amount of money and enthusiasm, can be changed into what I'd prefer for features. You can't change location, obviously.

This sounds like everyone in my life right now save my husband. Sigh. I have no advice, other than to directly ask to talk about something other than politics. If she hasn't picked up on the subtle clues then you may have to go that route . :sad:

:-D

How did I not know this was a thing!?! It sounds yummy and super easy. I don't own a microwave (don't have the space for it in my kitchen) but now I feel that I must go and get one...

I was able to get tickets from Orlando to Manchester during Christmastime for $1400 total for 3 of us round trip (including all taxes/fees) on Virgin Atlantic. I did have to drive to Orlando, which was quite a schlep, but it was worth it. Flying out of my home airport was $5000 for 3 of us round trip. I agree with your pricing, anything around $1000 per ticket is usually what I aim for. I was completely shocked at what I was able to get those tickets for! Try looking at other airports too and see if it's considerably cheaper driving to a different one.

Last week I saw lots of good deals to Europe. I agree with you, usually clearing cookies helps as does booking on a Tuesday/Wednesday. Sounds like you're doing everything right. I prefer to book directly with the airlines, especially if I'm using miles or miles plus money. I would keep on trying and buy at a price that you're comfortable with. I have no advice on how long a layover at Heathrow. I usually fly into Manchester. I would think that you'd still be in transit and would have to clear customs/immigration in Glasgow but you may want to look at that. If you DO have to clear customs/immigration at Heathrow I'd make sure the connection was at least 2 or 3 hours. I don't like to cut things close, though! Good luck!

Where would you be flying from and where would you be flying to? You're asking about a layover at Heathrow - where would you be connecting to?

That's really neat. I'm originally from Harrogate so have visited the Bronte parsonage a couple of times. Very cool that you are related to them!

I am no help as my oldest is 11. Just wanted to come on though and thank you for posting about this option. DH is a LETU grad and it would be really neat if DS could follow in his footsteps and do DE in high school. I had no idea they had this option!

I've read quite a few books on minimalism/decluttering and my most favorite is by Joshua Becker: https://www.amazon.com/More-Less-Finding-Under-Everything/dp/1601427964/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480007130&sr=8-1&keywords=joshua+becker He also has a blog: becoming minimalist