Important to check source before postingforwarding these types of emails and misinformation

You can check at midnight online [2008-11-25]
I think they usually say if they The last couple of years, their servers crashed because so many people were trying to get online to buy. If you really want it, it Lots of people do it or have someone else who's going pick it up for you.

what is that all important side dish that is a must on your thanksgiving table? [2008-11-22]
For our table it is Lesuer Green Peas !My Mother always said they were the cadillac of Green Peas and a must at THANKSGIVING ~WHAT ARE YALL'S?

Just check all the ads in the newspapers. [2008-11-21]
Most stores have special coupons for early birds on Friday morning. Around here, stores open around 4 a.m. and last year we got there at 3 and stood in line in the cold just waiting to get in. Good luck. Don so unless you are first in line at those places you are usually out of luck. I know last year, people were in line at Best Buy at 2 a.m. waiting for it to open at 5.

Whatever sale item is most important to you [2008-11-21]
start there...early. Sale ads from Wednesday night's or Thursday morning's newspapers should tell you the store hours and sale hours. Many end at 11am. My dd and I like to go about an hour after stores open, though it's still dark outside. The crowds that were waiting in line overnight for the big ticket items are gone by then, and most everyone else avoids the stores until the afternoon hours, thinking they will be less crowded. Wrong they are though. There are more employees on duty early rather than later, so things move more quickly in the morning hours. We've also found the earlier crowds to be friendlier. DD starts singing Christmas carols while standing in line and soon lots of others join in. She's a blast to shop with. Then we go to a late breakfast and go home before the unfriendly crowds show up. Hope your experience is an enjoyable one.

Check eBay. I am a doll collector and restorer on the side sm [2008-11-17]
I am also into reborning, though I have yet to have any to ebay. I tend to do very personalized custom dolls. I also sew doll clothing, but I chose not to do that this year because I have not had the right kind of time. Save my email address because I will start to have some doll clothing next year when I am no longer on hiatus. I had to take the time off because I am landscape painting this fall, now I feel badly I can't help you!

Did you check eBay? [2008-11-16]
That's the first place I check when I'm looking for something like that. I also just did a quick search on Amazon and they have American Girl things, too.

I agree, beans and all legumes are a great source for.......sm [2008-11-15]
plant protein and fiber. Great option for vegetarian. This is a great beanice dish: rice beans (any kind) onions (chopped small) olives turmeric spices Fry a little in olive oil or canola oil, then cook in water, 1:2, or 1:1/2, depending on kind of rice. You can substitute beans with lentils or chickpeas, or put all 3 together....

No when I originally wrote the check [2008-11-08]
The check was a voided check to Wal-Mart and the Loan company, CNH Capital, knew that and cashed it anyway. I thought it was illegalfor someonecash a check that did not belong to them.

Check Your Email. [2008-11-08]
//

I wrote a $10 check to Wal-Mart and turned in to a $40 mistake so far. [2008-11-05]
Here is what happened. When you write a check at this Wal-Mart here, they have you sign something and give the check back. I stuck it back in my purse. They are supposed to void. I was cleaning at my purse that day and paying bills at the same time. I wrote a $250 to pay a loan. I really don A week later, i was looking at my acct online. I notice that that $10 I had written to Wal-Mart went through twice. I called the bank and asked why. They said, oh, it looks like Wal-Mart double dipped. so I was refunded the money. I don Anyway, I became concerned about why that 250 check didn They said $10 was credit to my acct. I did not connect the 2 at the time. I thought, 10, I don The man told me he would look into it incase there was a mistake. He called back the day later and said that was a $10 originally written to Wal-Mart and we cashed it. So I called the bank and told them. They then had me go to wal-mart because they said I owed them $10 back. I go to wal-mart and they say no it is the Telecheck, company they use for this service andthey thanked me for trying to clear it up and said Telecheck will be contacting me. So I get a letter in the mail saying I owe $40 plus I am not allowed to write checks anywhere that uses their service until I pay that $40 back. Whatscares me is that that check said VOID on it and that other bunch wasstill able to cash it and get their money, which I think was dishonest of them...also my bank let it go through.Now what if I were to loosea bunch of those type checks and someone cashes itAGAIN. Man I would be out a lot.Do you think any of this is right? TIA.

Consider the source. DD in hospital this summer sm [2008-11-03]
with serious illness. After about the fifth time a nurse had asked us what her symptoms were - my daughter just looked at me and I said simply Gross edema? because explaining how every part of her body had swollen over the last 4 weeks just got old. Nurse looked at me and said, Are you a nurse? I said no - but I do do MT..... wanted to be a smart aleck and said No - but I stated at a Holiday Inn last night!

Why would anyone dump on you for that? I love those types of stores nm [2008-10-21]
x

A source to help with food (sm) [2008-10-13]
www.angelfoodministries.com as well as salvage stores (scratch and dent, surplus items)

Check your email - sent you some info [2008-10-13]
x

Check your area for reclaimed grocery stores. [2008-10-11]
That's where you can get perfectly good groceries that regular stores have returned for various reasons. Expiration date may be soon, or packaging is out of date because a promotion is over, or maybe the product was discontinued. I saw a segment on the news, and people save around 40% to 50% on their food bills.

Check-writing doesn't bother me [2008-10-11]
so much as the little old ladies with their frail eyesight and arthritic hands, bless their hearts, digging in theircoin purses for the exact change. It

Check-writing doesn't bother me [2008-10-11]
so much as the little old ladies with their frail eyesight and arthritic hands, bless their hearts, digging in theircoin purses for the exact change. It

You could check Craigslist [2008-10-05]
I suppose. You'd choose your local area. You could even make a post that you are interested in buying AG products. You'd be able to set up a special private e-mail address rather than giving somebody your actual e-mail, yet it still comes to your e-mail box. I don't get how it works, but it wasn't hard to use.

Since June of 2007, my check has been [2008-09-26]
cut in half thanks to MQ. This will be the last year in an apt I love but cannot afford so will be downsizing. Thankfully, working at home cuts down on gas. My car is leased and I will be turning that in in April and will buy a used car. I go out to dinner once a month now, if that. I rarely order out and if I do, it is because I made a few extra dollars and want to treat myself. I went on a budget plan for gas and electric. I have basic cable now. I lowered my cell phone plan to $22 a month with 64 minutes per month. I am trying to quit smoking. Being single, it is very hard as there is not another income to count on but I manage and am trying to come to terms that I can no longer live the type of lifestyle I had become accustomed to. I think it has impacted all of us in some way and it helps to know I am not alone. We just have to do the best we can with what we have. I feel bad for those with children as that must be very hard making ends meet.

Thanks, I will check them all out! No text. [2008-09-21]
x

Thanks! I'm going to check them out! [2008-09-19]
xx

If you knew what the emails said, you may think differently... [2008-09-16]
this has gone on for a few years now, either she wants to know me or not. One thing is for certain, she sure isn't getting all my information without giving something back. If she wants to meet face to face that's fine with me and if not, that's fine too. While I have curiosity, I don't spend my time wallowing in what could have, should have or would have been. That chapter of my life has been closed for many, many years and frankly the curiosity fades more and more with time.

Check with your state's Attorney General's office. [2008-09-12]
NM

Thanks for posting. I will check it out. [2008-09-02]
nm

Important [2008-08-26]
I think it is very important to try to get to the root of your son's problem. He may not have a real handle on what is bothering him (or what happens) either, but there should be someone qualified to help with that. Another thought is to see if those nanny shows are on DVD. It seems they are very smart about handling a lot of the situations with children and families.

Ethnic variety/languages. What's yours? [2008-12-02]
I'm just curious. I am a Germanic blend. The Scandinavians are actually one of the original Germanic tribes. I was born in Sweden, raised in Norway, had German Father and live in the US. I learned Swedish and Norwegian at the same time, English later and can fling a phrase or two in German. (Tho I read it better, if slowly, than I could ever speak it.) My preferred method of communication is actually what a friend refers to as Swenglish but is a weird mix of all my favorite languages. I consider myself a Scandinavian, but I am a Californian as well. This is my home now, even if I do sometimes pine for the fjords. (Gratuitous Monty Python reference, for you slow types!) I have actually met people who do not know where their ancestors hailed from! That is inconceivable to me! So, tell me about your family and language, please. I find this kind of thing interesting. Where are you from? Where did your ancestors come from? What language do you speak in the home growing up? What language do you speak now in your home? Like I said, just curious.

Tell her you've gone into the petsitting business [2008-12-01]
(In my area petsitters charge $20 per visit for one animal, $5 extra for each additional animal in the household. That doesn't include extras like walking dogs, giving medications, etc. If she expects you to take a cat to the vet if it gets sick while she's away, she should leave you a signed, blank check made out to the local emergency veterinary medical center. Most won't let you in the door for less than $500, and won't treat the animal 'til that's paid. My guess is your sis would be inclined not to pay you back if it were to come out of your pocket. Might consider having her sign a waiver of liability, too.)

Do you have a store that sells the little [2008-12-01]
discs of chocolate to melt that are more for candymaking? These work the best as the parafin is already in the candy, so they set better. You could try also anywhere that sells supplies for baking cakes to see if they have the candy-making chocolate discs. Also, you may want to let the peanut butter balls sit before coating, as I think it has something to do with the oil in the peanut butter. Let them sit to dry before coating with any type of chocolate. Candies that are homemade should be stored in tins with wax paper in a cool dry place and not necessarily in the refrigerator. If you do store in the refrigerator make sure the container is air tight as the chocolate will pick up the flavors of other things in your refrigerator, i.e., onions... My mother made homemade candies; all types! RIP: Mom; we

family secrets [2008-11-30]
My mother blackmails my sister that she will tell her secrets to her new husband. If you love your husband, let it go and if you refuse to let it go, make sure you consider the source as more trustworthy than your husband before you bring it up.

I just need to VENT and see what you all think...Beware...this is long...sm [2008-11-30]
I have tried twice to tell this story but deleted it both times because the story is just too long so I will be as short as I can. I have a bunch of ROTTEN TO THE CORE sisters.My sisters are just about the worst people I have ever met in my whole 43 years on this planet. There is one who is especially bad and I just told my other sister that if she ever dies, to please not call me as I won I come from a very large family with 5 sisters and 1 brother with my brother being the oldest. He is not involved. He sort ofleft the family years ago because he couldn They did terrible things to him after his divorce. We rarely see him now.I am considered a scumbag and a loser because my husband and I don We don We don We can We love our children with everything in our souls. They have made fun of me and my husband and insulted us to our faces.My husband and I have a difficult marriage as he is tough to get along with so they hate my husband My sistershave all gone out to dinner without inviting me. I have found out because of someone They have made threats and sent rumors flying throughout the family, without me knowing, about calling DCYF on me. I heard that one too from a slip of the tongue. I cried for 2 hours in the shower that day. They talk about everyone and I mean everyone badly. They have awell known reputation ina couple of our towns here for being mean horrible girls. They are about as fake and phony as a person can get. Sweet and all smiles to your face and when you turn around, they stick that knife in as far as they can get it in. They have what they have in their lives because of what someone has given them. My sister had her property given to her by her in-laws. It is worth about $1,000,000. My other sister had land given to her by her husbandto lessen their mortage burden so now they owe almost nothing on their $500,000 house. They think they are fabulous people. They think they are the cat In the past years when we were all talking and I would be invited to a holiday, I was not spoken to at all the whole time I was there. I am a venter and I always have been so if my husband and I are fighting, I will always go to my older sister (one up from me) and vent and vent until I can She gets on the phone the second I leave and tells every person in my family what is going on. They in turn judge me and my husband, make their threats, and so on. This is also happening to my oldest sister and her partner (she is in a gay relationship but was always dating a man and was married twice) and my sister The three of us, me, my sister and her partner, and my sister We get along well. We are happy with each other. We don Whatever happens in each other lives, we just accept it and don I now attend holidays at my sister I don I don The sisters (I like to call them the Witches of Eastwick) all attend holidays with each other up at my sister The three of us are not invited. My older sister has a son. Several yeas ago, my sister and her partner had a terrible fight with him. He went to the witches and told them a bunch of lies and now they have pretty much shunned her and her daughter and me too because we still talk to her.I have a sister, who is involved in all of this, that I speak to on a regular basis. She is close to my kids or at least my oldest son. She pretty much ignores my other two children and they tell me, It She is the one who has spread rumors about me in the family trying to get everyone to call DCYF on me. I heard this too by a slip of the tongue from another sister a few years back. I tend to be a forgiving person so I quietly forgave her for this without her ever knowing that I knew what she was trying to do. Now that they are all inviited to the holidays up to my sister They are extremely fat just like her. These holiday trips up north are usually kept quiet and I only know about it the day before they are leaving to go, which is when she inevitably asks me to come feed her f******g cats. This is how Iknow that a big party is going on up at the cabin and once again only the chosen selected few are going. This is usually for 3 or 4 days and they get fed twice a day so I have to goto her house twice a day. Sometimes I have to give them medication and the last time she asked me, I even had to soak her sick cat She lives about 20 minutes away from me. This girl would NEVER, NEVER, EVER do this for me. My husband and I took our children on a cruise 3 years ago and we have a cat and I never asked her to do this for me as I know she would have laughed in my face. I have been feeding her cats for years now when she goes away. Keep in mind though that she was in the select chosen few to be invited up to the cabin. I was not as I am considered trash in the family. I am SICK AND TIRED of feeding this girl My sister who invites everyone to go is a mean, horrible, sadistic, vicious, backstabbing wretched b***h. No one will say anything to her like, Gee Pat, where is everyone else? Didn They could care less. All they know is that THEY were invited. Anyway, I am sorry this is so long. I cananymore. I have been thinking of this all day all weekend long. I am really to the point where I just don I am goingto tell my fat a** b***h sister to fnd another way to get her cats fed because I She is just using me and believe me when I tell you, she enjoys it. She is verydiabolical. She loves it that I am not invited and she and her husband are.She even questions me and counts the cat food cans to make sure that I came on all of the days they were gone. These people have balls of brass and I have had ENOUGH.I am just sitting and waiting patiently for the next time she says, Oh, we Can you come and feed the cats? I just canNo. I can I will never feed your cats again! Find some other sucker to do it! I believe that they are severely narcissistic people and this is nothing to take lightly.These types of people are very destructive. Do any of you have family members like this and what do you do about them? How do you stop them from making you feelsad, lonely, excluded andless than you are or deserve? I think it is time for me to cut all ties with them. I just can

Gift Giving [2008-11-29]
I just got married in July 2008, bought a new home, and am now expecting my third child in April 2009 so we ourselves have had many blessings this year but our financial situation is also pretty tight. We will not be buying gifts for anyone but our children. Our family will receive homemade treats this year. We still like to do something nice for them because they have done so much for us this year and every year but we don't have a lot of money to play with. In my case, we take care of our obligations (bills, our children, etc.) before we worry about gifts. We feel that providing our children with things that need and the love that they deserve is more important than any material gift will ever be. Our family understands our situation and is very happy just to spend the holidays with us without the expectation of a gift because honestly the quality time with family is the biggest gift we could give each other. In my opinion, you should just explain the situation to them and let them know that you will not be giving gifts this year. They may take it hard but they will get over it. You have to do what you have to do. Gifts aren't the real reason for the Christmas season anyhow. Good luck to you!

after my shift...sm [2008-11-28]
I was in Walmart for 10 minutes because there was non-Christmas stuff that I needed and then I went to the grocery store, which was not crowded at all. I was going to go to Target for 1 thing until I saw the parking lot. Not a chance! That 1 thing wasn't that important. This is the first time I've gone shopping on Black Friday in years. It was good to reminded why I don't do it.

sorry for your situation. it is a [2008-11-28]
shame there is so much focus on the gifts. no, i doncharity begins at home). God bless.

that is so right on. My mom lost the ability to.....sm [2008-11-27]
pay her bills, write a check, etc., but under her bed were at least 3 dozen rolls of toilet paper HIDDEN from who knows and also another case of paper towels. These TP and paper towels become extremely important and nobody has explained it to me yet but.... oh well, she is still a delight, albeit a mindless one. LOL

my mom would stash paper towels and - sm [2008-11-27]
toilet paper. When she died I counted 86 rolls of TP and about 30 paper towels, also about 15 boxes each of zip lock bags, quart, gallon, freezer bags. My dad and I divvied it all up between him, me and my two brothers. If it was on sale at the store my mom bought it. Had about 18 pounds of butter in the refrigerator too, as well as cheese, and about 80 packs of Hershey chocolates (they were hidden in a closet). Was a bit OC on the TP and PT though, and every night she would check all the doors to make sure they were locked at least 4 x before she would go to bed. Always made enough food that is for sure. My MIL goes either one way or the other, we never know until we get there though. No snacks so it if is a sparse dinner then we end up going home hungry and stopping on the way to get something, or the kids fill up on the dessert I bring. Stayed home this year though, and my BIL is cooking for them this year, and I cooked for us.

Don't give up! [2008-11-26]
Iso easy, even a child can do it! I learned to sew before I even went to school! He even had some antique machines with foot pedals that we kids used to play with. I have all sorts of machines, from antique hand-crank Singers to cheap Wal-Mart plastic machines, and high-end Pfaff and Viking sewing machines and sergers. Check out local sewing and fabric stores for classes. You can also try visiting Meetup.com, which is a really cool place to find all sorts of people who get together to pursue their interests. I don't know where you live, but I checked in my area, and there are several groups for beginning sewing listed. Maybe there are in yours, too. With that said, I really have to tell you that Singer machines are not the best. Since the company was sold many, many years ago the quality has gone downhill. They are not built to last and have many parts that break very easily. In my experience, a simple mistake in threading some Singers will place a lot of tension on a weak part in the thread line. Something will snap or break, and once it's broken, you can't get the machine to feed thread properly as you sew. Unfortunately, a really good machine can cost hundreds of dollars, and it's hard for a beginning sewer to make that sort of investment not knowing if it's something they'll be doing for a long while. I always recommend going to a store that deals in higher end machines. (Pfaff happens to be my favorite.) Then ask to try machines or take classes with their display machines. You learn basic sewing techniques and you learn what makes one machine better than another. I suggest that if your machine is brand new, you return it for a refund. Take some sewing classes first, and try different machines. Then you can make a better, more informed purchase, which in turn, should result in successful and fun sewing! I'm sorry. You probably didn't want to hear that, but I can't say that I'm a fan of Singer machines. Even if you get it to work, it's likely to fail not long down the road, which will only frustrate you. I'm willing to bet it's the machine and not you.

Take a sewing class, and take the machine - sm [2008-11-26]
with you. There you will learn how to use it and how to sew too. I have been sewing since I took home-ec in 7th grade. I have a Singer that is about 20 years old or more. It is a pretty basic one with about 12 different stitch types. Have never had an issue. Sounds like you donhow to sew class. Call a local craft store and see what they offer. Even one private lesson would probably do you a world of good. Good luck.

Thank you to all for suggestions/advice [2008-11-26]
It It is so isolating working from home sometimes. I don Working from home is a mixed blessing sometimes... I do this so I can be available for my kids, but at the same time I feel I am always working and can On the days they don Iguess I thought it would be easieronce they got older, but it is just as complicated in many ways.Well, another day off from school is almost over and at least we all survived.

LOL exactly. [2008-11-26]
and when young children are hungry, you feed them cause you never know when they are going to be picky and not eat. She sent a bag of sweet potatoes and asked if I would make them. Hubs was steaming them for me. I just went to check them - there are 3. For 14 people (that we know of), she has 3 sweet potatoes. It's a good thing I have some. Tomorrow should be fun. Maybe its an age thing. I know they talk about not eating as much any more, splitting meals when they go out for dinner, etc. Maybe they don't remember what the average adult or teenage boy eats? Who knows! I thank everyone for the brainstorming session though. I think I have some good ideas and will check back in the morning to see if there are more. :)

I think most everyone does from time to time.......sm [2008-11-25]
Check your bedtime routine....are you keeping irregular bedtime hours? Are you drinking caffiene late in the evening? Are you eating a late night snack? Is there something in life that is bothering you like family or financial stressors? All these things can cause problems falling asleep and staying asleep. If you correct any of these problems you might be having and still have problems sleeping, try a warm glass of milk about 30 minutes before bedtime. It will help! If that doesn't work, see your doctor for help with sleep.

STOP IT [2008-11-25]
quit putting yourself down - Your child will never hate you - your husband will not hate you - You have done nothing wrong.. SOME people today do put too much emphasis on material things -but you know as well as I do that material things are not that important. . Your heart is what is important. . Love your child and husband and continue being the good person you are - Do you think those people are better than you because they have a lot of land? No - they may have more money but they are no better - and from the way they treat other people - it sounds like they are not as good as you. . And the gifts you gave the child were fine - people would be a lot better off playing board games with their kids than letting them play video games all the time.

Alton Brown's website [2008-11-25]
Check Alton Brown's website for recipes. I am a pretty good cook and make Christmas cookies for all of our neighbors and friends every year. Cookies or not, if there is something that I just can't seem to pull off I go to Alton Brown. I have not found a recipe of his that hasn't worked for me yet. It took me 15 years to make a pie crust but I was only able to do it well with Alton Brown's recipe. I know he also has some recipes where you can make 1 dough and then divide it to make 4 different cookies. I think his black-and-white cookie is that way. Also, marshmellows are not difficult to make but they are so impressive and everyone loves them! It's a little messy with all the powdered sugar but the kids LOVE to make them. Its minimal ingredients and its like a science project when it grows in the mixer. You can also get extracts and make mint marshmellows, strawberry, whatever you want. They go great with hot chocolate. Actually I think this year we are only doing those and sugar cookies because everyone loved them so much the last few years. and maybe some fudge, to give me an excuse to make it. lol

I just got a Scrabble game on EBay [2008-11-25]
We play Scrabble each holiday - kinda got a contest going on. We have been through 2 regular games but thought it would be great to have the turntable. I decided to checkEbay 2 weeks ago and one had an hour left on the bid and I won the bid for $19 w/ SH. There was one tile gone but they told meahead of time about that which is n problem really as we had all the tiles from the old game and they fit justfine. Bought an egg timer at the dollar store and looking forward to this year Good for you playing a board game with the grandkids. Teaches them a little spelling subliminally too.

If you have a local craft store [2008-11-25]
like Hancock Fabrics or Joann Fabrics, they might be able to teach you the basics. You could also check with local quilting clubs - you might find a new hobby and meet new people this way.

Giving [2008-11-24]
Two years working as a missionary overseas has taught me that material things are really not important. Do not hold onto things with such a tight fist. I guess after see children begging in the street for food daily kind of changes your perspective. Oh and then the women who washed her clothes on a rock made me vow to never complain about washing clothes in a machine. Forgive your husband. His giving natureis more important that a rolling pin. A fire, like those in Califronia, or other natural disaster can cause you to lose all of these things. Things really do not matter anyway do they? Have a nice Thanksgiving, and be thankful you can afford food to use a rolling a pin on. So many people in the world cannot.

Well, at least they're working to [2008-11-24]
support their children. Raising kids in this generation isn The pressure are on parents these days isn In addition to making sure our kids are well taken care of and that we attend the all important PTO meetings, baseball meetings, wrestling club meetings, soccer meetings, football meetings, dance recitals, cheerleading practice, on and on, we also must make sure our 1st and 2nd graders are doing their 1 hour worth of homework each evening and in addition to that make sure we are reading a book to them every night. These are the requirements now set by the schools. The parents must also deal with sex, drugs, and peer pressure at a much younger age than you probably did. Just last week, I had to explain to my second grader what a virgin was. Did he learn that word at home? No, he learned it on the bus because our school district decided to save money by busing all the kids together, high school through kindergarten. The meals you mention your GKs eating, that More than likely, your GKs won You seem very harsh on your kids, and IIs either one ofthe parents involved in their children Do you have any idea how much time that takes? Arethey struggling with finances? Were you a stay-at-home mom or work-at-home mom? Having to get kids ready in the morning and get yourself ready, then spend 8 hours a day working, only to come home and pick up the same kids and do homework with them is not an easy chore. More than likely, your DS and DDIL are tired. Instead of criticizing, why not ask where you can help? Maybe you could offer to make them dinner once a week after work. Give them an evening out without kids to just relax a little bit. I As for the kids But aren Maybe he Maybe mom and dad didn I, myself, grew up in a home where I had frozen pizza at least 2 or 3 times a week for supper. My mom worked nights and my dad didn If my mom could make us a meal before she left, she did. Frozen pizza didn I graduated high school at 140 pounds, normal for 5 tall. My mom and dad were there for everything for me, though, and it It Your words are so harsh and I just have to wonder, if you think they Is it because you know the children are well taken care of, just not up to your standards? Perhaps you should have a conversation with your DS and see what his impressions of your child-rearing of him were. Perhaps there were areas you could have improved on.

Thanks to everyone sm [2008-11-24]
I value your opinions/suggestions. Mine like Annie so I am fortunate, I will definitely offer a casserole of Anniein the box)? So good to hear from all of you! Happy Turkey/Ham/MacCheese Day - whatever works is a good idea. All the more for next-day Thanksgiving Sandwiches, yum, turkey, stuffing and cranberry all on a sandwich on recycled plates.No dishes, no holiday stress.Getting together is what is important. I hear the Indians had fish, clams, etc., which sounds realistic for the area.

Wow! Was a nerve hit??? [2008-11-24]
I didnLeave it to Beaver. That's just not the case. By the end of the 1960s and into the 1970s the pendulum had started to swing so far toward women having careers that we were often belittled for choosing to be home with the children. Remember Hillary Clinton's cookie baking comment during her husband's first campaign? In fact, stay-at-home moms were the norm for only one brief period in our history right after WW II in the post war boom times. There was a pretty awful recession in the 1970s, and I remember gas rationing and long lines at the pumps. My mother had to work two jobs, and my father, who was in construction, was often one of the first to feel economic ups and downs in his paycheck. But we had dinner together every night at the kitchen table. Before the stay-at-home mothers of 1950's t.v. fame, most mothers worked. They had to. Only the very privileged stayed home and waited for Ward Cleaver to come home from the office. My grandmother, who lived to be 94, God bless her soul, was born in 1908. Her mother died during the great Spanish flu epidemic in 1918. My grandmother was the eldest of four children, and at the age of 10 she became the woman of the house. She stopped going to school so that she could cook and clean and took care of her father and siblings. And no one thought that was wrong. It was expected because there really weren't any government social services -- no welfare, no foster care. Eventually, when her father's depression over the loss of his wife became so great that he couldn't manage to bring home an income, people in the neighborhood just took over. The two eldest children went to live with other families. The two youngest went to an orphanage. My grandmother's father just drifted away and his children never saw him again. My grandmother married at age 20 and had four children during the depression. Talk about having it hard. When I was a young mother trying to make ends meet and I'd cry to my grandmother, she brought me around to reality. She told me what it was like for her to raise children during that time. Many a night she cried over whether or not she could even feed her children or if they would have a roof over their heads. And she wasn't alone. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, was in the same boat. The Great Depression was enormous. She and my grandfather worked wherever and whenever they could. They brought home a dollar or two at a time and fed their children buttermilk and potatoes. They didn't sleep, they worried all the time. Today, my grandmother's washboard hangs in my kitchen on the wall next to my dishwasher. It reminds me that I have no right to ever say that things are harder on us today. They aren't. Generally speaking, most Americans have so many more advantages, choices and opportunities than those who came before us. Yet many in my generation and the one or two generations behind me are just whiners and crybabies who don't think about the big picture. They even dare to say they have a harder time as parents today. Please. Not even close! Every generation seems to believe that, but just a short trip through a history book proves otherwise. I'm not that very old. But I've raised my children and I raised them well. I know what it takes to do that. It takes self-discipline, sacrifice and consistency. And you know what? That's exhausting. Parents today are tired. So what? All parents are tired. Offer it up, as the old nuns used to say. The kids have homework an hour a night. So what? They should have homework, and parents should make sure that it gets done, because education is important. There are parent-teacher meetings to attend, coaches association meetings, scout meetings, dance lessons, school recitals, etc. etc. etc. So what? Balance it out, quit what can't be done, do what can. Work because you have to. The kids have to be fed. It's still easier than it was a generation ago, two generations ago, three and on and on. We're parents to young ones for only a short time. Which reminds me, let's not forget about birth control. Most of us have 2-point-whatever children these days. I'm the youngest of 7. Most of the families in my neighborhood when I was growing up had 4 or more children. Today women can choose to have as many or as few children as they want. That means that we parent for far fewer years than the generations before us. I'm done with day-to-day parenting after just 20 years, and in fact, it got much easier on my day-to-day schedule once my boys were in high school. But my mother had children at home for 34 years. Imagine the number of cloth diapers for 7 children for year after year after year. Yes. I had it far easier, and I know it. So when I was exhausted raising my two boys, I just sucked it up and kept at it. The OP, I think, probably didn't want to be as blunt as I'm willing to be. She IS helping by babysitting her grandchildren while her children work. I'm sure she loves her children and grandkids, but I'm willing to bet that if she dared to say to her children the things I've posted, her children would react just as you did and she'd end up cut off from her family. To the OP: I hope it helped to vent a little, and I want you to know that I understand.

I have a BFA and am an artist sm [2008-11-23]
I am not, at this point, trying to make money at it. I have sold things in the past, however. Stuff I do: scratchboard landscape painting in watercolor and acrylic, some oils colored pencil drawings for really intense and detailed color reborning dolls I design and make rag dolls and their wardrobes soft sculpture stuff interior design (have done loads of this for money) silk ribbon embroidery and regular too crochet knitting tatting (needle and shuttle types) sewing (a particular passion because I design clothing, draft the patterns and make the item, always fits like a dream) decorate cakes which I have been paid for I don't quilt. Because I make garments I can't see the joy behind taking a big piece of fabric, cutting it into little pieces and sewing it back together to make a big piece of fabric. I know there is a lot more to it, but this is what stops me! I don't scrapbook because I don't need another hobby (see above). I especially appreciate the efforts of others with regard to scrapbooking and quilting, because I don't do these things. I have used my design skills to make a living. I am an extremely good costume designer and I have built some incredible costumes in my time. There is not a lot of money in community theater and more to the point, I don't like theater types. It is not my scene. I prefer to work in a solitary environment without a lot of other people's input. This is probably at the root of my being an MT. The money is good and I have enough time and funding to participate in my avocations.

Not exactly "art" but....... [2008-11-22]
I took some beading lessons. At first it was fun and rather expensive for tools, lessons, etc., some were taught by ladies I knew, others I paid for. I bought only the best crystal and silver. Then I found out the whole rest of the world was beading. If you went to a bead show you would not believe how many people go to these things and if you go to a craft show, you see booth after booth of beaded necklaces and earrings. I did get to make some beautiful gifts which paid for itself. You can make money at it but then you have to get into licensing, etc., sales tax numbers, and be really into it. I was just happy to have it as a hobby and sometimes make things for special occasions and am greeted with oohs and ahs from the receivers. You would have to check out a few craft shows if there are any in your area. I donartist per se, but others seem to think I have talent. Havenselling but I probably could, it's just that there are so many others doing it, it's a gamble and I can't afford to gamble right now. Just my input. I tried drawing lessons and I struggled with it, so I will leave that to the talented ones. There are those to whom it comes easily. I struggle with it. Beading is addicting though, kind of like eating popcorn, gotta know when to stop. I use Firemountain Gems for my supplies. They are online and also have online free lessons. Got to crimp or else you will lose your beads, have to do it properly and use good-quality supplies. I worry too much about quality and can picture a bride walking down the aisle and psssshhhh, so I double crimp and use good stuff.