I had my flu shot this afternoon. In about 8 hours I'll start a low grade fever, chills, headache and body aches, and will be lying around for a few days without feeling 100% back to normal for a week... that's just how it is for me, every time. It's like influenza "lite." My 13 and 10 year olds get their flu shots and always complain about intense arm pain for the first day or two. As an incentive they are allowed a lot of screen time the day of their shots, but this does not distract them from the pain. They require a steady stream of tylenol to (barely) tolerate it. Dh generally has no problem with the flu shot aside from a little soreness. Given our wide range of reactions to the shot, some of which are very unpleasant... I am always conflicted about vaccinating my youngest children. I usually can't bring myself to do it. I tell myself that having the rest of us vaccinated protects them somewhat. This year I am seriously considering letting my 3.5 year old get the shot for the first time. I have to decide by Monday. I am very reluctant to vaccinate my 1 year old. The recommendation is to vaccinate everyone over 6 months old. If you are a household that gets the flu shot, do you vaccinate everyone over 6 months? Or do you make an exception for the little ones, and why? (As a side note, I do get the flu shot when I am pregnant and going to be in the 2nd or 3rd trimester during flu season, just because of the awful statistics regarding that cohort. Maybe it's hypocritical that I will subject a developing fetus to the vaccine but not a 6 month old.)

I was in line for a toll bridge and the semi truck in the lane next to me unexpectedly started backing out. Maybe he was over the weight limit for the bridge? Anyway, he didn't see me and I didn't realize he was in reverse right away. The cars up ahead moved just in time so that I had space to avoid the danger.

Haven't read this whole thread, but it looks like his info should have been sent to the FBI/NICS if he had been involuntarily committed, and "Federal law prohibits possession of a firearm or ammunition by any person who has been 'adjudicated as a mental defective' or involuntarily 'committed to any mental institution.'" http://lawcenter.giffords.org/mental-health-reporting-in-texas/

http://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=36336&webc_pm=34/2017

Sounds just like the way they run BSA in my area! DH and I sympathize! :grouphug:

I'd do what the posters above suggested, except add the chopped beef at the very end, just so that it warms through. I think it could get really tough if cooked along with the vegetables.

I'd dress everyone in black, accessorized with red buffalo-check bow ties for the boys + your dh and a red buffalo-check scarf for you.

Yes! I have almost finished my Sid the Sorcerer costume (Disney Sorcerer's Apprentice). The baby will be Mickey Mouse in a red robe and we'll take a play broom with us.

Sure, it's possible. No idea about this guy's marital status or anything else. He wasn't a manipulator/player when I knew him. I prefer to think he's being genuine and I'm super wonderful! :hurray:

And just like Equifax, how vulnerable are our medical records to being hacked en masse?

I'm not surprised that it would have taken his friend many years to feel comfortable contacting me directly. It's like one of the boyfriend's brothers emailed me (the brothers were "I'd lie for you, I'd die for you" loyal, very close-knit family). TBH the relationship ended in large part because, as serious as we were, as much as we were each other's first gf/bf, expected to marry and everyone around us expected us to marry, I never was able to break into his innermost inner circle. I remember he once told me point blank that I'd always be a lower priority than his immediate family, somewhere near but not surpassing the level of the friends, even as his wife, just matter-of-factly like how could it be any other way? Ugh,any feelings of romantic love died when it was ending, but he was MY best friend for so many years that the pain and loss faded yet it never went away completely. What's worse is that he's a really good person and I know he was deeply hurt as well, maybe even now. Despite not being high priority, he let me see innermost thoughts that he kept closed to everyone else. I have the guilt of feeling like I strung him along for a while when the writing was on the wall. I was waiting on him to change, but that's just who he was and how he treated relationships. Actually, his brothers treated their high school girlfriends (also first ones kept long-term) much the same way and we were all suffering(!) so it is probably how he was raised. You can see how boyfriend's friends (and family) -- even if they secretly wanted to be keep in touch apart from him, may not have out of a sense of fidelity even decades later! I didn't say this in the OP, but in the email, the acquaintance wrote "I always thought you were a wonderful person." It's with some bitterness that I view those words, because he may have genuinely felt them (in a platonic sense, hopefully) since he first knew me but never felt free to express them. It would have been so comforting to hear that back then -- that even if I couldn't be friends with those people, that they cared about me as an individual and not merely an extension of the boyfriend. I think it would have made a difference if in his email, this acquaintance had added something like, "I lost all contact with (boyfriend and boyfriend's entourage) some time ago." I mean, look at everything I just wrote! Almost 20 years later with no contact, and I'm still conflicted about what to do because of a sense of loyalty!!! I'll probably carry it until the day I die!

I wasn't really meaning to ask if I should respond... I would reply if there wasn't so much baggage involved! 24 hours later it still feels best to let it go. I will mention it to dh at a good time but keep it brief; he prefers not to hear about the former relationship.

I received a surprise email from a high school acquaintance tonight. He was a close friend of a long term (>5 year) serious boyfriend, but I never really hung out with him apart from the boyfriend. I try to keep a pretty low "real-me" profile on the internet these days, no facebook etc. but he managed to find an old email of mine that's still active. I doubt he knows my married name. Anyway, it was a short "googled this address, feel free to respond or not, I've often wondered what you're up to all these years" type thing. I don't think I will respond. Things didn't end well between me and the boyfriend. There was a moment several years ago when I saw him randomly at a church service and approached to say hi, and he sort of slipped away/avoided me, which I guess I understand but it still stung a little. Sadly, when we had the final-final-FINAL-break-up so many years ago, the ties were not only cut from him, but from his large circle of friends who I had come to know well... it was like the loss of an entire community. Being an introvert without a large amount of friends, it was hard for me. I have always felt that the door to that community was closed forever from that day forward. This boy was loved by them all so much, and they were all intensely loyal to him, and I often saw him as the glue that held people of different walks of life together who might never have been friends otherwise. I don't doubt that he remains friends with many of them to this day. So although I wouldn't mind emailing this person back (to be nice? for curiosity's sake?), my gut tells me this is a door best left shut. How could we write to each other anyway, without the boyfriend coming up in conversation? I don't want to talk about him behind his back. Then there's the question of how dh would feel about it. It's funny how such a little unexpected message can bring back the strong memories and emotions... the complicated relationships we all had back then, the sadness and feelings of rejection, and the good times, too. At the same time, I admit that I'm flattered that a 20-year old acquaintance cared enough to seek me out. It took guts for him to email out of the blue.

I had a standard dachsund from about 8 years old into early college. He was not a yapper or a digger. He was affectionate and playful and also too smart for his own good. We lived in a ranch then, so he wasn't using stairs often, and he wasn't allowed up on couches or beds which probably helped him to avoid back injuries. I loved that dog and if I ever get another (can't now because of allergies in the family), it will likely be a dachsie. 5 mile walks might have been a bit much for him, though.

I don't knit, but I like to drool over Knitty.

Would he like galaxy bedding?

How about a grey pashmina-type scarf instead of a sweater? Most Macy's-type department stores probably carry something suitable.

My Dog Skip Bringing Up Baby Dances With Wolves Project X (the 80's one) Jurassic Park

We did this too! We had an annual Young Authors contest that coincided with the "Pizza Hut Book It!" I LOVED binding the books! The school got its hands on a bunch of large wallpaper samples for our covers. Every year we'd pick our favorite and the room would fill up with fumes of rubber cement...

Our AP world history teacher gave us free rein in choosing a final project as a major part of our grade. Some students came up with elaborate plays or movies, some did models, some had reports. There was a wide variety of presentations and they were all so impressive. My project was "Dishes Through History." I researched and cooked over a dozen different foods from different civilizations/time periods we had studied, explained a short history of each one, and everyone in the class got to try them. It took up so much room that I had to reserve the cafeteria. I wish so much that my school district would have participated in annual science or social studies fairs. I'm sort of living vicariously through my boys when they get involved in one.

I have abdominal separation from my pregnancies that never healed well and my tummy protrudes, so I have that early pregnancy look. I'm also small-busted which doesn't help! Boxy clothes hang straight down and hide the curve of my back, making me look even larger. Generally the most flattering ones for me are: Tops that have some interest at the neckline to draw the eye there and ruching is helpful. example with gathered neckline and your eye is drawn to the lighter color Cardigans that are contoured in the back, either by being belted or sewn. Embellishments at neckline/bust. Look for a V shape when closed. example 1, imagine it in a solid color example 2, back shaping Blazers with same principle as above. Peplums can be helpful. example Tops with fabrics strategically placed to give an illusion of a waist/hourglass. example 1 example 2 back

Replied to something that was edited and withdrawn.

Alright, I'm sorry I asked.

My oldest is 13 and has said good-bye to trick or treating... he'll be handing out candy this year. He wants to plan some kind of prank/mini-scare for the trick or treaters that they experience before they can get their candy. It has to be (somewhat) cheap and not too gory/intense for the really little ones. What are the best pranks you've seen in your years of going door to door?

A book weight. A gift basket filled with treats and teas/hot chocolates to partake while reading, a mug, journal with nice pen, gift card.