OK, it is called charcoal. In my mind, charcoal is the black pieces. Our's says "100% natural wood charcoal" and it looks like wood (not black). And we don't use lighter fluid.

We stopped using charcoal. We (really dh) use a chimney starter with newspapers in the bottom, wood charcoal (not too much so it can breathe, add a little as it gets going), then when hot, add to wood charcoal in the grill. I got the starter at a health food store, it was with the wood charcoal, and get the charcoal at whole foods or publix (greenwise brand).

We have older macs, except ds just purchased a new MacBookPro, his 08 macbook (not pro) is still working, he just had to replace the hard drive a few years ago. He had to bite the bullet because he can't go past 10.6 operating system. He is also maxed out on RAM. To me, the BIG deal is getting enough ram, especially since you seemingly (ladies correct me if I didn't read correctly) can't upgrade it anymore?? I have 4 GB RAM, which is way better than the 2GB I had, but IMHO you need at least 8GB, 12-16GB is even better. If you are playing tunes, have several windows open (for a paper you would), social media, esp. graphics programs, etc. it bogs down. Dd is an art major and regularly works on photoshop, and her fan is almost always running (that indicates the computer is working hard). A faster (quad) processor and more RAM (and she has 8 GB) would solve this for her. If there is any way you can get a MacBookPro, its way better. With both kids, the mid range 13" was only a few hundred more and worth every penny. And make sure you get AppleCare, especially for a laptop. Dd made no claims on hers, but I made two that more than paid for it. Dd's friend had complete hard drive failure at 13 months on her pro, and she didn't have AppleCare.

Congratulations to all of you! We used the pack and play at the foot of our bed when kids were infants, had a regular crib in the nursery for naps, then transitioned to naps and overnight in nursery, then at around 3 y/o both kids went straight to a twin mattress and box springs on the floor with a guard. We still have those twin beds!!

I do like outdoors (IF its not too hot), but not zip-lining, kayaking, etc. so not "extreme" sports. I like walking, sight-seeing, mostly level hiking, that sort of thing. We like to try new foods (but the gluten/dairy free severely limits this), get into the culture of an area, see the art, people watch. We wouldn't mind a concert (not sure about shows if they are cheesy). Branson is far, we could do the Smokies (have been there a few times), except I would have to double check the food offerings, I'm thinking it isn't as good as Asheville for us in that dept.

Anyone else ;) I took "young" out, my kids are early-mid 20s. Savannah/Chas. are day trips for us, and we have been there numerous times. Even though St. Louis is really far, the city things to do look fun, I'll have to think about cities nearer to us. Thanks all!

Hi all, I'm trying to think outside of the box... I would love ideas for something to do for 3-4 days in driving distance in SE US for the beginning of August. There is a slight possibility we could make that a day or two longer. We already live on the coast, its way too hot to enjoy the beach right now. I don't handle heat very well. So no Disney/Universal until off season. Other longer and further away trip ideas might be nice to think about as well for another time. Our trip last year to Asheville, NC was lovely, that is in the running again. Two of us are gluten-free, three are dairy-free, and it was no problem ordering food anywhere in Asheville, we would need the same as I need a vacation the most of all of us... so I will maybe make a smoothie for breakfast, but not much else. We do get condos with kitchens, so I can get prepared foods at Whole Foods or similar for lunches/snacks, but it needs to be close and easy, since again, on vacation I don't want to spend time grocery shopping (or surveying a dozen restaurants at dinner time for food I can eat). We do like cool food (that we can eat, paleo), music, beautiful scenery, easy hiking, museums. So a balance of entertainment, culture and "unplugging." I'm open to big city, but its been so long since I've lived in one... I'm not sure how to navigate that. I need quiet, especially at night, so very noisy, crowded and constant activity would further undo me. Sharing great vacations with your young adult kids is very welcome, even if not in this area, that also could give me ideas. Thanks all!

Well you know what you can suggest. ;) Over here, I would tell my dd to quit the swimming, and handle dh after the fact... I would like to think if you told your dh she is over-extending herself, and you don't want her sick, he would understand.

How would your dh take you suggesting he back off so your dd is free to see for herself if she is over her head? This isn't just about working hard, your dd gets headaches, and is out in the heat a lot. Part of your parenting at this point is to help dc recognize if they are in over their heads, which is more than just working hard. His expectations are getting in the way of that.

I see some options available, but it is *mostly* her decision. Where you can come in is if you have to pay for medical care if she over extends herself. Also, that you would need to care for her if she gets very ill. That would give you *some* say. First, ask her what she thinks she needs to do. If she feels like she is coping well, than you will probably have to leave it alone. I have found with young adult kids, all statements in the form of a question help. So rather than a panicked "omg, you will get sick, or its too much" a "how are you coping?" or "do you feel its too much?" would be better. IF she is overwhelmed, and does feel its too much, maybe *suggest* she could take the better paying and/or better condition job, quit/cut hours on the other, and loan the rest for school. School loans, since they are investing in one's future, aren't bad, as long as they are not excessive.

I bought a cheap flip phone at Target. If you are in a larger city, the signal will be fine. If not, it will be spotty. I'm in a smaller town, and find I can work with the spotty signal. I bought the minute doubler (some phones come with it, and it is for the life of the phone). Then I buy the one year plan for about $100, with the doubler, it gives you 800-1000 minutes for the year (it will say 400 minutes for the year). That is more than enough for me, but I have a landline. Net 10 uses the same signals as Tracfone, they have more options for minutes, but the phones are not interchangable from tracfone to net10.

How long? Short term rentals are tight here too. We lived in apartments and saw many solutions that you could use... pay month to month, and get an extra room to store your extra stuff. I even saw entire families squish into a one bedroom, storing in the bedroom, and all sleeping in the living quarters. Think of it as a vacation where you take everything, and that its temporary. If you do this, do easy in, easy out, as in a ground floor unit.

My frig broke a year ago, I got a side by side (Whirlpool) at Lowe's and it was a good experience. Actually, I ordered it first from Home Depot, waited a week (in 90 deg. temps using coolers...) only to find out on delivery day that the order didn't go through (placed at store). Lowe's got one in in 24 hours. There was a small scratch, they gave me 10% off and scratch repair paint (wrong color, but correct Whirlpool paint for $5 from Amazon worked) and the option to still return it if I chose to. Their service plans are very reasonable as well. Be careful with Samsung, I live in a small town, and no one repairs them here. So ask around. Also, I *thought* I wanted the bottom freezer until I tried it out in the store. I do not want to bend over to get the turkey out, also, the bottom freezers are "dump it all in the basket" type, don't hold near as much, and I really wanted shelves. I did gasp at the price increase, my old top freezer that lasted 10 years was $400, and my new one was $1200, but I went large with some bells and whistles, and really like it.

Interesting article: http://fiddlrts.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-duggars-how-fundamentalisms.html

I only eat jello when I'm sick... I'm sure hospitals alone will be enough to keep it around.

re-posting for those only looking at the end of the thread, timeline and "treatment details": http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/05/23/a-timeline-of-the-molestation-allegations-against-josh-duggar/?tid=sm_fb "The Democrat-Gazette has this to say about “the old Veteran’s Hospital in Little Rock,†the location given by Jim Bob Duggar as the site of the counseling: Pulaski County assessor’s records show the nearly 500,000-square-foot former VA hospital building was purchased by Hobby Lobby in 1998. The craft-store company then donated the building in 2000 to the Institute in Basic Life Principles, an Illinois-based ministry founded by televangelist Bill Gothard. Shortly after the institute acquired the building, Gothard began renovating the space, saying it would be used for the Little Rock Training Center, which would house “court-referred youthful offenders in the organization’s Bible-based rehabilitation program,†according to an April 2000 article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Bill Gothard’s teachings have been promoted by the Duggar family in the past. In 2014, Gothard resigned from the Institute in Basic Life Principles following allegations of sexual harassment, molestation and failing to report child abuse. A spokesman for the Institute couldn’t confirm or deny to the Democrat-Gazette whether a youth treatment program was in place at the building in 2003."

more..... http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/05/23/a-timeline-of-the-molestation-allegations-against-josh-duggar/?tid=sm_fb quoting from above article: " The Democrat-Gazette has this to say about “the old Veteran’s Hospital in Little Rock,†the location given by Jim Bob Duggar as the site of the counseling: Pulaski County assessor’s records show the nearly 500,000-square-foot former VA hospital building was purchased by Hobby Lobby in 1998. The craft-store company then donated the building in 2000 to the Institute in Basic Life Principles, an Illinois-based ministry founded by televangelist Bill Gothard. Shortly after the institute acquired the building, Gothard began renovating the space, saying it would be used for the Little Rock Training Center, which would house “court-referred youthful offenders in the organization’s Bible-based rehabilitation program,†according to an April 2000 article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Bill Gothard’s teachings have been promoted by the Duggar family in the past. In 2014, Gothard resigned from the Institute in Basic Life Principles following allegations of sexual harassment, molestation and failing to report child abuse. A spokesman for the Institute couldn’t confirm or deny to the Democrat-Gazette whether a youth treatment program was in place at the building in 2003."

dp

Me too! And the princess was born on my birthday and really made my day!! I know Diana is smiling.

The year we knew a lot, I bought chocolates for each of them (and brought a cooler so they didn't melt during the ceremony).

I think the book you have is a good start. stopthethyroidmadness.com is a good site as well. Be ready for the doctor to either say no to the labs, or if you get them, not able to read them right..... But if you are lucky enough to get at least some, it will be a start. Make sure you get a copy. A health food store near me offers labs from time to time for a very reasonable cost, if you can get TSH, FREE T3 and FREE T4 (not total or uptake) that would be a nice start as well. Even if TSH is in range, if it is higher in range (above 1.0 or 2.0) that can be a sign of being hypo. More forward thinking doctors would do a trial of thyroid meds to see if symptoms improve. GL

Back when I ate gluten and dairy, the huge amount of annatto in Annie's Mac and Cheese made me wheeze. Evidently one can't handle large amounts of that either. I hope Kraft cuts back the color, it doesn't have to be vibrant yellow/orange!

:grouphug: I'm three years out from finishing, but dc are still here working/going to college locally. I'm s l o w l y letting things go after selling about half of it all when I graduated my youngest. I still may end up keeping some. Of course ds says get rid of it all (he is keeping his English literature books from college though), but dd is very sentimental and wants every.single.book. Each year, we let some more go. I do think since I put so much into homeschooling, at least some of my identity is kind of with it all, and that makes it hard to turn loose. Maybe you feel the same way? Be gentle with yourself and maybe keep a few boxes of your favorites.

I had hives for years a long time ago. An allergist said sometimes you never know the cause. I took steroids, but couldn't take them forever, so moved to H1 blocker (Claritin is this) + H2 blocker (Tagamet, etc.). I also had success taking quercetin when they weren't bad. I never went to ER, they never got bad enough to, even though at the beginning I had welts that covered one side of half of my arm (ouch). I would take the steroids (as much to equal a shot) and a few hours later, all gone. I did have thyroid problems diagnosed later, and that doctor thought maybe that was it. I began chocking away at possible causes by taking all chemical additives, soybean anything, that sort of thing out of my diet, so very clean, no additives, real foods only type of thing. It took years... but they have been gone ever since, unless I eat a known problem (yellow #5 is one for me and its in everything). Lanolin is another, and unless you take vegan vitamin D, it has lanolin. That was the last piece of the puzzle for me. I would ask for an epipen script for safety/sanity sake if it makes her feel more comfortable, especially if the hives are stress caused.

Try GEICO. If you have more drivers than cars, ask for some drivers to be part time. Designate two teens to one older car. We did, it helped a lot.