The Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. They are mysteries of a sort...

My daughter had the books and I read them [2008-11-18]
at 50. Absolutely love them and am going with my daughter and her friends to see it. I was disappointed after I read the last book that there were not more. I am currently also watching TrueBlood on HBO and absolutely love it. It is based on a series of 9 books and I am on book #5. Certainly would not recommend the series or books for young teens (very graphic in all aspects), but very good series. The series is not following the books, which is a little disappointing however. I only hope the Twilight movie in in line with the books.

I've read the books (sm) [2008-10-24]
We actually got HBO solely for the reason of watching this series. So far it is...okay? I love the books but the series is not sticking strictly to them, and is changing some things that I don However, by itself, I do like the series. Just hate it when they go from books and change majorly seriously big things!! HC

I never knew there were books [2008-10-24]
I had never heard of the books, although then again we don't have any books stores in our town (except the section in Wal-Mart and Fred Meyer). I have heard a lot of times people like books better.

Selling things other than MT equipment,books etc [2008-10-24]
Does anyone ever post things to sell/trade other than MT items on this site (in the classified)? I am a wah MT and I am looking at reaching out to some wah MT I already have some people signed up and just looking for a few more. I am on the MB for the cricut website, but trying to reach out to other MT's who like this as well. Thanks for your help.

We're sort of a "have to" case, too. [2008-09-13]
My son was having problems with bullies and stress migraines to the point of being sick, so we've prayed about it and started this year homeschooling. It IS a LOT of work. I am pretty much a single mom most of the time, with my husband on swing shifts. There's about one week a month that he's home any amount at all. So, my son and I are in this together, just me and him, and I am trying to work and spend time with him. The teaching is really very minimal because he is pretty much able to teach himself...very gifted. I spend at least a couple of hours with him daily though, for interaction, and I spend a LOT of time planning, doing records, etc. I am thankful to be an IC...no schedule to keep, but on the other hand, I'm not getting MY work done until late most nights. I hope we fall into some sort of routine and I get to do more of my work in the daytime soon. It's sure hard to get up and get going when I've had about 5 hours sleep. Thanks for the reply.

I'm the odd one out, but I sort of agree [2008-09-10]
I do have a child in advanced math. He My thing is if your daughter tested well enough to get into this Physics class, then she must be one smart cookie! However, if you encourage her to drop out when in fact she can probably do the work and just has to work a little harder, I think you all will regret it. A GPA is wonderful to have at high levels; we all know that, but if that high GPA is being earned because the child is in easy classes, then it doesn I say keep her in the class. She Let Good luck to you! I think she I hope this all makes sense!

can anyone help me sort? [2008-08-25]
I have microsoft word, works, notepad and word pad. i any other way to do it, or suggestions on why its not sorting the list? many thanks.

the Lord John Gray books [2008-08-03]
I read the first one but haven't read the 2 that she published this year (waiting for the paperback versions). It wasn't as good as Outlanders but still pretty decent. Mainly a mystery that I had a hard time following at first with a bit of LJG's (ahem) personal charateristics thrown in, if you know what I mean.

Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon [2008-08-01]
Big chunky books, 6 in the series so far, and ooohhh, good reading. Herefalls through stones in a standing stone circle (description is pretty cool) and she falls back into the 1700s. By the time she figures out what has happened she is with a group of Highlanders and is trying to figure out how to get back, but lots of complications ensue. As a disclaimer to more sensitive readers, there is graphic sex (not in a trash novel way really, just in a real world way, and not a ton), graphic violence (think History Channel), and some language.

Those are my very favorite books ever...!!! [2008-08-01]
I Can't wait for the 7th book, but I think that's the last one, which makes me sad.

Truly A Day for the History Books [2008-07-14]
DH replaced the empty toilet paper roll last night. In the 32 years we have been together, this is the first time I can remember him replacing a roll. Please don't tell anyone else because they would probably kick him out of the He Man Club, which all men who don't replace rolls (and that would be 99% of them) secretly belong to. This is one of those days where, years from now, I will think back about what I was doing when I discovered it. (Sort of like people do with other significant historical events.) In my world, this is at least as big as discovering a cure for cancer, landing a man on the moon, or discovering life in outer space, so I just wanted to share the good news with you - because, ladies, it proves that there is hope for the rest of you!

I passed around several transcription books -sm [2008-07-08]
at the beginning of a semester to a class at a business school for the 20+-year-old students to see various TX resources available and afterwards, one book was missing. I was very surprised. Bottom line: The bookstore was out the book, and I hated the loss for the school. Actually the bookstore was probably out twice for the book if it was afterwards returned to the bookstore for resale by the student who stole it.

Sort of. sm [2008-06-16]
I had root canals on my front teeth and could never get the money to have them capped. On a Sat night before I was to start a new job the following Monday, I bit into a BLT and a front tooth shattered into pieces. A dentist saw me on Sunday emergently and was able to built it back up - I certainly was not going to start a new job missing a front tooth. Good luck.

It sounds like you probably would like to see the Harry Potter books burned too [2008-06-03]
People like you are why I have a problem with religous nut cases. The last time I knew God = love. God loves all his children no matter what. You are just filled with judgement and self-righteousness. I believe that if someone is being physically abused of course remove them. If they are living the ways their religion believes and it is not hurting anyone leave them alone. So what if they wear funny clothes and their hair looks funny to outsiders. What gives one religion the right to dictate how another lives. Yes I know polygamy is illegal, children marrying and having sex with adults is disgusting in my opinion, but we should try and understand each other. I heard a quote one time that said Don. We are not The Creator and we should not be judging people. Let the courts handle it when they've got something legitimate and solid to work with.

What sort of response did you get? [2008-05-08]
.

Good ideas - I was thinking about the books [2008-05-06]
too. Running where's your Avatar?? I love that Avatar!!

yes because if there is some sort of misunderstanding/misprint you may be [2008-04-24]
you don't really want this hanging over your head, do you?

I have some good books actually and she might find help for celiac sm [2008-04-15]
I have Bette Hagman I have made cornbread (as good as the real thing or better), Boston brown bread (heavy, but wonderful toasted with jelly on it) and a garbanzo and sorghum bread (YUK). The biscuits were so-so. The muffins were a disaster, but I think I know why. Now, her pizza crust from her French Bread Mix (you make it yourself) is absolutely TO DIE FOR. It is better than the real thing to me. I had no idea what it was like to enjoy a veggie pizza with a chewy crust without hurting when it hit my stomach and then all the way through. It was PAINLESS and WONDERFUL!!! I love the Food Allergy Survival Guide which is free of animal products, dairy, nuts, peanuts, soy, wheat and I don Stuff in there is a mixed bag. Some of it is lovely, some is heavy and icky like vegetarian/vegan food in the 1970s and 1980s, so gross. Because my celiac piggybacks with lupus, it is imperative to follow the diet as strictly as possible. Lupus had blown my iron binding capacity so I run around anemic if I don I have to be on steriods which will compromise my bones, so I have to take calcium and vitamin D. Celiac, untreated, flattens your intestinal villi if they don Now, 90% of celiacs can regain them if they watch what they do. Without villi you risk malnutrition and certainly anemia, brittle bones, canker sores and every sort of ailment related to vitamins and minerals. I am in a risky position if I don I have lost a much needed 40# or so since I started steriods (prednisone) and a celiac diet. I had been feeling better, but I think I must have had a dietary indiscretion (like too much protein for about5 days running) and indulged in things that were no-nos. I am paying for it. I can't wait to get back to where I feel good. Longer nights of rest, back on iron pills, strict celiac and vegetarian eating, no eggs and cheese no more than once a week...I It is no fun being such a pain in my own patooty!

I sort of agree, but generally those kind of men don't [2008-04-02]
nm

Reminds me of those ads which have always run in the back of comic books or magazines [2008-03-21]
Ever since I was little, the same ad still runs, I think it is for a learn at home program it says: Become a Medical Transcriptionist in your spare time. Earn over 25K a year. I am not kidding this one has been running in the back of magazines and comic books forever. I think it also says, learn by typing doctor They never update it. So, we make the same as we would have 15 years ago... but then again, that might be true considering we never get a cost of living raise... hmmmm.

The recipe is a secret - sort of! [2008-02-08]
It's funny. I can make the cole slaw, but there's not really a recipe. And the sour cream, mayo thing was not her usual. She was probably trying to stretch out the mayo. That's my cousin's house, and his mom never had enough mayo on hand! LOL The same with the wine vinegar. Grandmom made sort of a face over it. She used plain white vinegar at her house. The cabbage was always sliced paper thin, by hand. Then onion was grated on one of those plane graters, so that the onion turned pretty much into juice. Then added a splash of vinegar, salt and pepper and stirred it up. Then, in a coffee mug, she sprinkled a bit of sugar on the bottom of the cup, filled it about halfway with mayo, and then thinned that with whole milk or cream until it was the consistency of salad dressing. Then mixed it all together. And not wanting to waste a drop, she always took some of the cabbage, put it into the mug and tried to clean out every drop of the dressing. One coffee mug of this concoction was enough for half a head of cabbage. Her cole slaw leaned more to the sour side with vinegar. It wasn't a sweet cole slaw, at all. She added grated carrots on special occasions, like T-giving, which is when the video was taken. She was barely 5-feet tall, and shrunk to well under that as she got older. My mother was her firstborn child, and weighed nearly 10 pounds and breech, born at home. Amazing. My Grandmom was one strong lady!

I enjoy the mysteries by Sue Grafton, such as [2008-01-30]
Her stories are fun & easy to read, and written in the 1st person, which I like. The stories take place mostly in Calif. towns, the names of which are often changed. I enjoy trying to figure out which town she's describing. Anyway, her books start out with letters, such as 'A is for..', 'B is for..', etc.

The Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. They are mysteries of a sort... [2008-01-30]
but rather light in that regard. They are hilarious and very character driven.

Stephenie Meyer's books [2008-01-30]
called the Twilight Series - they are really good and I was so surprised. Fun to read. They are now making a movie of these and we are awaiting the fourth book that is supposed to come out in May. Go to her website stepheniemeyer.com and yes, I know that is a weird way to spell stephenie. I bought these for my daughter and then I ran out of things to read and they were really good for a change of pace and now I too am hooked.

My favorite books [2008-01-30]
My absolute favorite book of all time is Paint the Wind by Cathy Cash Spellman. My next favorite which are hard to find (the author passed away) is by Day Taylor - The Black Swan & Moss Rose. I used to like Danielle Steele until she started making her characters snooty, but her older books Thurston House, Palamino and The Ring are some of my favorites. Another good one is Barbara Taylor BradfordA Woman of Subtance. Bout a woman from the 1800s/early 1900s who went from being a maid to being a successful business woman. My husband saw the movie and he loved it. However, I wish I still had the book Paint the Wind. I could read that over and over and over.

Is it necessary to see a doctor if you've got mono [2008-12-01]
From what I read (doing the Internet doctor thing ) there's nothing medicinal they can give you for it, so why bother going to the doctor in the first place? Everything I've read says all you can do is treat the symptoms - take Tylenol, get lots of rest and fluids, gargle with salt water for sort throat, etc.

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

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.

Hanging out at your house is a good thing [2008-11-26]
as long as you are there. My house became the hang out house, and it was hard, especially when I was trying to get my work done. But I knew where they were and could step in and keep things under control when necessary. I donrule of 16 which meant my sons could not date until they were 16 years old. Boys don't really seem to fight this so much. My oldest didn't have a steady girlfriend until he was 18. My youngest was 17 when he first started dating. I also had problems with some of their friends being just plain rude. They'd swear, never say please or thank you, and just generally act like snotty brats at times. That wasn't a problem for me. I corrected them and taught them manners. I used humor, which again boys seem to respond to. Usually, when we had girls over who acted that way, the boys were quick to correct them, and I didn't have to step in myself. As far as going out, my boys did go out to hang at the local pizza parlor in mixed groups when they were 13. I never had a problem, but they were held to time limits. I think itYou know, I Good luck!

Found my Scrabble game sm [2008-11-26]
Went online to Walmart at 4:30 AM, they had thenew jubilee edition for $10 less than Hasbro direct, ithas a carrying case, curved letter holders, lazy Susan turning board. The only thing I didn I donseedy and I would not enjoy going there in the dark AM, so I did well. I have gotten my two grandsons interested in Scrabble as this is the only part of my brain that works well and itBeat Grammie - better than being glued to the Wii. LL Bean has a great wooden set but it's $99 and would be hard for them to carry around.

I do know that I don't need them [2008-11-25]
as friends or my life is going to end if they don I never was a peoplemagnet. If they don To each his own. My child gets along with all their kids.She really doesnshe just sees kids and that is how they view her, as a kid.The boydid not say, mom take mehome now so I can play with my Wii. He wanted to stay and play with dd and the other kids. Yes, this kid is an only child which is probably why he gets so much. I have 2. I cannot afford a Wii except on credit and I don I did consider it once, I was looking at one with dd and she was not interested at all. She wanted to go down the isle where the dolls were and the art projects were. I asked her if she even knew what that was. She said Yeah! that is a Wii. We play it in the afterschool program when it is raining outside. She just doesn She does like the board games and that game of Go Fish and Old Maid I got her. I never really knew what a Wii or an Xboxwas until 6 months ago. I knew what Playstation was. When I was a teen I thought they were annoying because of all the bleep bleep bleep.. and kids sitting there like zombies. I never thoughtabout them again until recently and noticed that they have all advanced since I was a teen. But, I am still out of it. Someone was talking about a Guitar Hero and I thought it was a song from the 70s. It took me a while to realize that was some sort of game.

Last vent on obnoxious toys. LOL. [2008-11-25]
The LeapFrog Tag thingy. I saw them at Wal-Mart and it looks like certain books work with it. I saw the advertisement andthought it wasneat until that crazy man in the lizard costume or whatever it is insinuated that books are boring unless they can be used by that talking pen. I cannot figure out how that thing helps kids learn to read as it says it does. It looks to me like that pen reads for them. My 6-year-old is in first grade and they are trying to teach her to read by phonics. So when she and I read together whenever she stumbles across a word I have her try to look at it and sound it out before I will give her an answer and most of the time she can. I think I am just frustrated by that whole industry now anyway because I have had salespeople come to my door basically telling me that my kid is going to be a dumbazz if I don I guess I am not giving those electronics a chance. I cannot see what they can do for my child that I cannot.

no way [2008-11-25]
my daughter has nada of this junk. She reads on a third grade level. I taught her to read using D!ck and Jane books and that was ALL. My son did the phonics computer stuff....yes...you guessed it, not good at English, but he can read because of Harry Potter books. D!ck and Jane was worth tracking down!

where does this book plug in? [2008-11-25]
Great, now even reading bedtime books to my kids is getting outsourced!

LOL. It doesn't plug in. It runs on batteries. [2008-11-25]
It has some kind of sensor in it and it can only be used with certain books.

D and Jane [2008-11-25]
I was so surprised to see D and Jane books in our local book store this past weekend. I didn't think they were still in print. When I told my daughter about them she looked at me like I had two heads! LOL. I didn't realize I couldn't type out D???. I couldn't even use the ! in it like the poster above.

What would you think? [2008-11-24]
Here Best friend and neighbor from kindergarten through highschool. Grew apart with college but stayed in touch. After college I moved out of state, she moved back in state - still stay in touch and email regularly. I see her every time I am in town, if she is available. She is got married in November and eloped in Jamaica. She is having a reception in December. I planned to come to the reception, take my stepchild out of school, etc. only for this reason and its on a Friday so its a 4-day weekendtodrive there.I am pregnant and not able to travel after the holidays. My family decided to throw me a shower there that same weekend because I really canafford to go down again. They specifically planned it for Saturday night so she would be able to make it after her festivities Friday and any of her family leaving on Sunday. So I saw her recently when I went for a visit and she said she wouldn She then gives me a gift, not wrapped, obviously thrown together and tells me that she picked it up quickly on her way to meet me because she won't be able to make the shower. It When I got married she sent me nothing, not even a card but she was just out of college. I had planned to give her a $50 gift for her wedding. I received a $10, maybe $20 baby gift of which 1 outfit is the wrong gender. She was well aware we know what were are having. This is my first baby. My feelings are conflicted on this but the more I think about it, the more upset I get. I just dont Is it truely that she is just wrapped up in herself right now and the marriage moment and happily every after and (after almost 10 years) I am over the marriage thing being some huge, happy,perfect day and realize there is more to life? I feel like she could have atleast planned to stop by the shower for 10 minutes and I wouldn Or she could have even told me she planned to come and then couldn Sorry this is getting long. I just can Am I clinging to a friendship that is not there?

I just wanted to thank you! [2008-11-24]
To the person who posted to informed us of the free photo books at snapfish.com sponsored by Oprah, I just wanted to thank you! I ordered one and my mom ordered one for herself too! They turned out great. I did a wedding photo book as I got married a year ago and still hadn't done a wedding album yet. It turned out amazing!!! Did anybody else take advantage of this amazing offer?

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 really appreciate this. [2008-11-18]
Notice I'm the only one who didn't post an answer? I have totally lost track & think I need to go back to the drawing board. I haven't done an actual tally in quite awhile (I think I'm afraid of what I'm going to find out). This can happen when you live alone. I live in a very small mountain community in southern California & things can be expensive up here at the regular markets. I do a Costco run about once a month & try to keep my sanity when I'm there. I make things ahead & freeze, that sort of thing. & I try not to be hungry when I go there. I make my own bread & yogurt, things I eat a lot of. I'm not a vegetarian but eat very little meat. Anyway, you all seem to be doing an incredible job, & this gives me something to aim for when I do get up the nerve to look at my spending habits. Wish me luck. Thanks!

Eating Out - About the Same as You [2008-11-18]
We usually get take out on Friday's because I don't cook on Fridays (it's my day off so to speak). Then we go out on Saturday nights just my husband and myself and our best friends and usually spend about $40+ depending on where we go. The kids get together with their kids and they usually get some sort of take out. Then on Saturdays we usually either eat lunch out (fast food) and then Sundays either lunch or dinner out (fast food - I hate to say sometimes it's both). We have been trying to cut down the Saturdays and Sundays as far as the fast food goes. My daughter who is a vegetarian doesn't usually get much from the fast food restaurants so our bill usually isn't that large (About $10). We always use coupons, though (buy 1 get 1 free - we have what is called Entertainment Books that the schools usually sell). My husband will cook, and I hate to say he cooks better than I do.

Are anyone's children into the "Twighlight" craze? [2008-11-18]
The book series by Stephanie Meyers? It My 14 year old and her friends are absolutely crazy about the books and now that the movie is coming out itThe movie is out Friday and she already has presale tickets. I havenI have to say the movie lookslike it might be really good.

I am myself (and I am 33!) [2008-11-18]
I have read all four of the books, and I absolutely love them and have been waiting excitedly for the movie! I will be seeing it on Sunday! :)

I can't imagine affording all those meals out, but I have some suggestions sm [2008-11-18]
I usually cook from scratch. My idea of fast food is a can of lentil soup, and I have that about once a month, occasionally twice. I make crockpot soups a lot because I am busy. I will tell you, there is a place that is sort of between a restaurant meal and home cooking. I used to have kids at home, lots of them, and I would get too tired to cook. My answer was to hybrid the dinner, so to speak. You can get Stouffer's lasagne which is good. You can pickup some ready-made stuff in your grocery store deli or freezer case. We liked the frozen Banquet chicken back in the day. I might get that, a box of flavored instant potatoes, potato salad or ready-made mashed to go with it. We might get a bag of salad too. Fresh fruit cups were nice if they were on special. You know, make a nice meal you don't have to 100% cook, but isn't going out. These days, I see that you can get beef tips in gravy, or sliced beef in gravy and other prepared stuff at the store. It just takes looking. It is more expensive than doing it all yourself, but it is much cheaper than going out. You can try another thing that is NOT everyone's cup of tea, and that is OAMC or Once A Month Cooking. This is my favorite website: http://snider.mardox.com/plans.htm I donmini plans using what is on special in a given week. They have breakfast plans, muffin plans, potato plans, chicken, beef, pork plans, ground meat plans, even some dessert plans. With planning, you can do this in bits and pieces. From people who have done far more of this than I have, they tell me that with soup already made, no chopping or messing, they are more likely to make fresh rolls, salad and even a quick dessert...round out any meal because the work is done. Obviously, it saves money.

My daughter had the books and I read them [2008-11-18]
at 50. Absolutely love them and am going with my daughter and her friends to see it. I was disappointed after I read the last book that there were not more. I am currently also watching TrueBlood on HBO and absolutely love it. It is based on a series of 9 books and I am on book #5. Certainly would not recommend the series or books for young teens (very graphic in all aspects), but very good series. The series is not following the books, which is a little disappointing however. I only hope the Twilight movie in in line with the books.

My daughter mentioned True Blood before [2008-11-18]
but I told her no way. She's only 14. I heard about the series, but I haven't had a chance to watch it. If I had a moment to read, I'd like to read the Twilight books myself, but I just can't seem to find a minute to do any reading. My daughter is going on Friday with her Twilight school group and then again on Saturday.

apologies [2008-11-16]
I just wanted someone When I was young and stupid I broke someone We were best friends. I have been thinking about this person a lot lately. They moved on to get married and have a family, so that is great. I recently sent a letter saying howsorry I am for being so terrible and asked for forgiveness. I did not give my number or put a return address on the envelope becuase I did not want anyone to think I was wanting a reunion or anything. I just really wanted toapologize and maybe get some sort of closure. Do you think there is a statute of limitations on saying I'm sorry and asking for forgiveness?

very well said [2008-11-16]
I totally agree. I have done this sort of thing, apologized after a long period of time. I heard back from each of the 2 people & they were grateful for it. They had not felt heard all those years ago & finally did. These were not people I was romantically involved with, so I did send an e-mail & heard back. I think your choice not to include your address was very appropriate. If the person wants to contact you, they can go to the trouble of looking you up. Nicely done.

I think she fancies herself [2008-11-15]
some sort of media behavioral psychologist/intellectual, and she seems to think we find the same things fascinating that she does. Me? I think it's a story about a person struggling with life and trying to find happiness in a world that's confusing if you don't fit a mold.

I'm so sorry for you pain... [2008-11-14]
My dad drank a lot too. I donan alcoholic though. My dad was a horrible father when all five of the kids were at home. He beat my oldest brother horrendously in front of all of us many, many times. He lined us all up by age when I was 5 (I There is a long list of other things that happened. Once we moved out of the house, he turned into a different man. He did apologize to us. He became the best father and friend I could ask for. He was always so thrilled when I stopped by and made me feel more loved than anyone ever has. Fourteen years ago yesterday, my dad was killed in an airplane crash. He had an experiemental airplane and was flying by himself. I have never forgotten my childhood because it has a lot to do with who I am today, but I am so thankful for the time I did have with him once things changed. Maybe you could tell your dad how you feel about him, explain how hard it is to be around him now and let him take the next step. It might beworth a shot. I I know it is really difficult to sort out all the emotions sometimes. I'll be thinking of you.