Well the latest cdc recommendation I think is to quarantine for 5 days, and if you’ve been fever free and symptom free the previous 24 hours (?), you can come out of quarantine, but should wear a mask through day 10. No talk of testing. So it sounds like she is following the guidelines.

I escaped covid for 2+ years, unvaccinated, even when vaccinated dh had covid. Kids in school, sports, activities etc, so not exactly hibernating to avoid it. Dd and I finally got vaccinated this year- 2nd dose 2 months ago, and now we’re both down with covid. Strange timing that makes you wonder.

What insurance? That’s great!

I bought this dress in a different color scheme and wore it tonight. It is flattering on and so comfortable! It is not fitted, but not completely shapeless either. It hugs snugger at the top and then flares out. It is very similar to another one I wear all the time as well. https://www.beallsflorida.com/online/nina-leonard-womens-violet-sun-dress?categoryId=3074457345616939729&top_category=&parent_category_rn=

Helpful- I bought the Lose it App. Tracked everything and calorie counted. I’m in my 50s. Lost 29lbs since March 2021. (167 to 138). Most was lost by Thanksgiving. With the holidays, I stopped tracking and calorie counting and put some back on. But I’ve stayed down 20-22lbs pretty consistently; I’ve been sitting around 145 which is fine but I do t want it to creep higher. I’d prefer to have a range of 135-145, so I’m trying to start tracking again. Helpful- I weighed myself daily. (Until I hit the holidays and then I pretended a scale didn’t exist 😂) I’m back to weighing daily. I realize I can go strong for maybe 6 months. Then I get tired of tracking my food and stop. But this time I made sure to at least limit any gain back, and now I’m back at it again. Eating late dinners with my family hurts- we had months of kids getting home late and me joining them to eat. That was not good. I prefer to eat earlier. I seemed to also have success being done eating by 7pm and fasting 12-14 hours. Less time then to eat. Helpful- I weighed stuff. Even my ice cream. At first I thought I had to eat differently, and buy different foods, but not really. I just needed to eat less. And I even weighed potato chips and such. I went back to black coffee instead of my huge iced coffees with milk and sugar. And drank more water. Helpful- I could plan ahead with the Lose It App, so I knew what I was planning to eat and how many calories it would be. Then I could work around special meals or occasions . I also liked to save calories and not waste them in the morning. It was a psychological thing. There was nothing I completely cut out. I just ate less, or made different choices so I didn’t waste my calories on something not filling (like the tons of butter on a morning bagel). I switched that breakfast out for an egg and Canadian bacon. Also helpful- while the first couple weeks I did pretty much 1200 cal a day to get a jump start, I would then do a zig zag pattern. I set the app to allot me an average of 1320 cal/day. Easy to do with lose it. So maybe 1500 on a weekend and 1200 during the week. Or splurging for a special occasion and then reducing calories by that another day. Helpful- patience and trust in the process. I’d have great progress, then it’d go up, then creep slowly down, then drop, then up. It was a constant zig zag but the overall direction was down. I did zero exercise at first, but as I lost weight, I started walking and doing some dumbbell weights.

Yes, 2 boys and a girl. $3000 a year or every 6 months would you think?

Anyone have a ballpark figure of what it cost? My teens have learners permits and UsAA says they can’t give a quote or estimate of the cost to add them if they get licenses. Which isn’t very helpful. They went to driving school, are A students etc. Just trying to figure out if it’s going to cost $500 or $3000. 🙄 any been there, done that? Any insurance recommendations?

I’m not much of a tv watcher, but my dh had ‘Ghosts’ on the other night and I enjoyed it and laughed. A takeoff on the UK version. Haunted house with various historical figures. 1/2 hour episodes; I think free to stream. You’d have to google it for more info.

Mine have lopsided shoulders too, but X-rays confirmed the scoliosis. Which reminds me, I need the one-year followup to make sure it hasn’t gotten worse. their school only has one building with stairs, so it’s not a huge issue for them. And they have a fairly sprawling campus with multiple buildings, so the rolling one makes sense. But yes, if the school is mainly just one building, I could see where a regular pack makes the most sense.

Mine went to rolling backpacks last year- Jansport I think. They were diagnosed with scoliosis after their sophomore year of lugging around a heavy backpack over a shoulder. The doctor said that didn’t cause it, but odd timing. Not sure the rolling ones are ‘cool’, but I think kids are secretly envious 😂

What about $200-$250? It sounds like she doesn’t care or know what a boarding rate is- she just likes your cats company. And cats are easy. So she gets money and enjoyment, and you save some money. Your cat will probably enjoy that more than the boarding as well. just ask her- we are going away for 3 weeks and I need to get the cat taken care of. Do you want to sit her or should I bring her to a boarding kennel? If she wants to sits her, then tell her thank you and you’d like to give her $200-250 for the stay. Does that sound alright?

I’ve taken to buying plants instead of flowers. They can always get rid of them, but have the option to keep them as something pretty for more than just a couple days. It seems to be appreciated. Also, when my mom passed, we had to fly in for the funeral. After the church service, we gave away tons of beautiful flowers that weren’t going to the cemetery. We opened the trunk that had all the flowers and let folks pick what they wanted. We made it clear we wanted them to be enjoyed because they were so beautiful. Some for themselves, some for an elderly relative. People really appreciated them and we got some thank you notes to that effect.

Don’t discount the large state schools. They often have honors college or other special programs that can make the college seem so much smaller. You probably won’t find that on a basic tour, but more on an open house style where they have seminars/talks about their various programs. So I’d look for those.

From reading the stress levels of folks that applied to tons of colleges and now have to rush and visit and make quick decisions, I’d rather limit earlier. My kids are only planning to apply to two schools, which they already have in mind. We will have time to visit each school a couple times and both have rolling admission and a lot of merit. Since our state has the common app, I will have them add some of our other state schools onto the application process, just to be safe and have backup options in case something majorly changes; so it will end up being more than two schools. Hoping to everything done by September and let them enjoy their senior year. They’re super high stats kids, but not looking at the competitive schools.

A friends son rented a room last fall with a slightly older guy. Found it online. Nothing nefarious. The guy has had one or two of his spare rooms consistently for years, rented either temporarily or long term, no lease needed. He was a normal guy. Just owned his own house and making some money. It was perfect for my friends son. Furnished, reasonable rent, and no lease.

No, not tmi. We would have neglected to consider large state schools based on size and stats, except that’s where the money is. And we found amazing opportunities available in their honors college and other special small programs. So I think it’s a good PSA.

Have you looked at the Honors Colleges within your safeties and would they be a ‘match/target’? Or other special programs within them? Don’t just go by the stats of the whole school.

Mine aren’t exactly leading the charge 🙂. They’re overwhelmed with junior year and college seems so far off. I get it. So I’ve done a lot of the research, talking, making appointments for college visits. I introduce ideas in small chunks, print out stuff, a little conversation here and there.

Because you learn a lot. The timelines and information that people have shared, both good and bad, have been eye opening.

And adding: check out now what AP credits transfer for their intended major. It guided my kids decisions in selecting their senior year courses. I told they could still take an AP course because they were interested in it, but just know that it wouldn’t replace a course at college because they already had those GE courses covered with other APs. Or they could take an AP course that would replace a required freshman or sophomore level course at college. It was at least helpful knowing what the academic track looked like at various colleges and how generous with credit they were

I have 3 HS juniors, so I needed a jump on this college thing. Here’s things I’ve learned or done. I joined College Confidential to read the stories and concerns- things I found out: —Have the financial conversation early with your kid. many people think the schools or government will provide the money for their kid to go and are shocked at the lack of financial aid. Meanwhile, they’ve promised their kid their ‘dream’ school. Our kids don’t have dream schools- they have schools they can afford. Get them excited for those. -learn now what automatic merit scholarships are out there. What gpa does your kid need, SAT score etc. Prep and retake the SAT if needed for a better score. There’s a lot of mo ey attached to that score at some schools. While some schools have gone TO, many have not or folks are seeing an imbalance with admissions and scholarships. TO kids are not eligible for those automatic merit scholarships. - it is competitive out there! Our state schools are not safety schools for anyone. They are just way too competitive. Have several safety schools you can afford - the stress folks have because admissions decisions and FA aren’t coming until March, April etc is real. Some are accepting at their lesser schools because housing and other things have already started. Watch the timelines! The schools we are looking at have rolling admissions. Our plan is to apply early, get their acceptances and merit, and be done. Then we can relax doing admitted students days etc and they can enjoy their senior year -some schools with rolling admissions give out their merit aid early and it may run out. Watch your timelines! -we’ve been visiting the likely schools. We’ve been twice to one of them, once to two others, and have a trip planned for the last. Some kids have applied to a dozen schools, haven’t visited, and now are cramming to try and make decisions the last semester of senior year. Get a lot of that done at a leisurely pace. - consider travel costs and distance and those realities in considering colleges. - don’t discount a large school. One that I had thought no way to is our favorite. It has a small honors college within the school, awesome perks for elite students, and various leadership type programs that again make the huge college very intimate. Visit and read online. -limit!! While it’s okay to cast a wide net now and visit a variety of schools, I suggest narrow it down before applying. You have more time now to think about pros and cons and how to narrow it down, than you will in March or April trying to make a decision before May 1.

Does not affect it as long as ALL DE classes are completed BEFORE high school graduation. Otherwise you can get reclassified as a transfer vs a freshman. Also, to get the most out of BF or any scholarship, do not complete the last required course for your degree until your last semester of paid scholarship. Some scholarships pay until you get your degree. Go slow, go wide, take other courses- minor etc.

I would start the college conversation early and have it focused on finances. The school your kids/you can afford or gives the most money is the dream school. Redefine that ‘dream school’ notion. Focus on the affordable schools. Focus on the schools that give automatic merit or National Merit full rides or Bright Futures. (And BF covers 100% tuition and fees etc.). Let community college and local state colleges be part of the conversation. Focus on the reason for college. Get you, your dh, and kids grounded and on board. Florida gives full rides for NMF at this time and hopefully will continue. Prep for the PSAT if that holds true in the future. The Benequisto deal is well worth it. Room and board is more expensive than tuition in Florida as you know. We did a 2+2 Florida prepaid for our kids when we moved here, so my kids always knew CC was on the table. If they wanted to go all four years to a university or live away, then they had to put the work in to earn scholarships. We were providing a basic college education, which is nothing to snub More than that was on them. We are looking at schools now, and only looking at a few near us offering full rides. My kids seem happy with the choices they will have. And as a bonus, it has taken so much stress out of the search. Automatic full rides currently exist for NMF at a variety public Florida schools, Ole Miss, Texas schools, Alabama schools, Arizona maybe, and a couple other states. You can google this. Also automatic merit at these same schools for gpa/SAT scores. Competitive full rides exist but they are super competitive and nothing to be counted on no matter what the stats.

I don’t, no. I’m sorry.

So I haven’t checked the numbers in the article above, but generally, this side of going green is not discussed or advertised. Many many people think it’s completely harmless and clean. I think we should be educated about all types of energy.