Yeah, I'd go with a fake tree, too. Much as I love a real tree, I break out in rashes if I touch them (no sneezing, though). And I'm not convinced that tree farms are particularly good for the environment, either, especially if they aren't orgnic.
My parents buy a tree every year, but my mom also decorates this large ficus that has been in our house since before I was born. If I had it my way, we'd just decorate that tree every year. It seems to like the Christmas lights.
There are pros and cons for both. I used to have live trees, until my daughter ended up being sick every holiday. Found out the spores exacerbated her asthma, and since then, have had the same artificial tree. I wish I could go back, but can't. Too cold here to open windows in the PHL area!!!
I'm pretty sure the the "angel" trees in our mall put a kibosh on these types of present requests a couple of years ago when things started getting out of control. People were understandably upset that not having enough funds to by an iPod would qualify as "needy".
Last year, my office sponsored families from the domestic abuse prevention center, and I picked the only kid that I could afford - a 16 year-old girl who wanted a guitar. We had to purchase from local stores (no online buying, in case they needed to return the gift) and I couldn't find a starter guitar at a local music center (the store had to be within a reasonable bus-ride, because many of these shattered families had no transportation) for under $200. Finally, I just bought her a $100 gift certificate to the music store and hoped that she would find a used instrument there to her liking. Her gift wasn't even that unreasonable a request - and I doubt she knew how much a guitar can cost.
Other coworkers pooled money to buy Xboxes and video games for kids. I absolutely refused.
I'm torn on this one. I mean, I can understand why a kid might feel like this is his or her one shot at an iPod. On the other hand, I am taken aback when the requested items are so pricey; I don't spend that much on gifts for people that are in my family.
Erik--You know, I've heard so many different things about where Christmas trees come from that I don't know what to believe. When I was looking into buying a plastic one, I found articles about how much damage that much growing/cutting/regrowing does to the ground, so maybe there's things to be said both ways. But the fake tree is still cheaper in the long run...and it doesn't cause allergy attacks ;)
Alaina--What I said to Erik, plus the fact that many of us can't chip it (I live in an apartment in the middle of the city--I can't work on my car on the property, let alone chip a Christmas tree!). I think there are good reasons to buy a real tree and good reasons to buy a fake one, and you have to weigh it all and decide. But don't discount a fake tree just because it's fake.
When you think about it, each Christmas tree has to grow for years before it's large enough to be an acceptable decoration. If a tree farmer sells 100 trees each year, and it takes 10 years for the tree to grow, he's got to have a field of 1000 trees at any point in time.
And when you're done with the tree, you can chip it up and use it for mulch!
Fake trees are NOT better for the environment. They are made from chemicals (and guess what plastic is made out of). Real Xmas trees come from tree farms, which are a renewable resource. The fact that they are real doesn't mean we destroying the planet. It's not like we are clearing forests of evergreens in the wild to use for Xmas trees.
The only bad thing about the difficulty getting private student loans is that the people who are in school now or going into college may not have the money to go to school withouth them. Yes, it would be great if the schools would lower tuition or give out more grant money but that can take YEARS to happen and does not good to those that are trying to complete their degree now.
Well we don't call them that in the UK. We refer to them as mobiles.
I agree with most of what you say though I do feel they would have their use in a real emergency i.e. accident where access to landlines isn't easy.
But once we all got by quite happily without them.
People in supermarkets using them really annoy me. They go around with it glued to their ears chucking things in their baskets often with kids trailing behind them. I don't believe any conversation is that important that you need to have it in the middle of a supermarket!
They hold us all up at the check out too as they carry on their conversation while loading and paying for their groceries.
If they open this up to refinancing I think it could be a huge change to the economy. For example - I have a 30 year, fixed rate mortgage at 6.125% with a balance of $150,000. At 6.125 percent the payment is $911 (of course not including taxes, etc). If refinanced at the 4.5 percent rate the payment drops to $760. A savings of $150. The savings would be larger depending on the size of the mortgage.
Of course I would hope that people would do a straight re-fi and not a cash out but who knows. An increase of $150 per month in people's pockets could be the psychological boost the economy could use.
Me? I'd do the re-fi and use the extra cash to pay off the car, etc. No plasma TV anytime soon for our family.
and coverage for them varies. We have, in the past, used the state-offered program (SCHIP, as it's called in some areas.) We have also paid out-of-pocket for expenses on a high-decutible health plan. All in all, we've been lucky, as our regular visits are fairly inexpensive (we see a Physician Assitance when we can), we use health clinics for shots and vaccinations, and we otherwise avoid bringing them in for anything that could turn out to be another "just a cold/flu/allergies" diagnosis. But I agree, it is costly to add kids.
Some plans are much better than others, so do your research before committing, and ask your local health and human services office about low and no-deductible discount plans or health care if you are considered below the poverty line. Keeping kids healthy is worth any stigma that may be attached to accepting help.
I'm afraid I would have to know what kind of sector you worked in specifically, and even then, the offerings change all the time. Do you have a department within your office that offers tuition assistance? They usually have details on other private programs that would give you access to funding as well.
I have four children. A high deductible plan doesn't work when you're at the doctor's at least once a month with one child or another. My work offers a high deductible plan and you pay $3K for a family. Then they start charging you co-pays etc.
I agree with you totally, I can't believe something like that could happen, and what's really low is that i didn't see this anywhere online except for your article! How can that be? It's terrible when something like this isn't reported....
I second Funny about Money. Walmarts are in the worst parts of town or pretty far out of town, Kmarts are very slightly better and Targets are generally in the 'a little downhill, but not that bad' kind of neighborhoods. Ergo, Target is preferred.
I live in a high crime city as it is. I don't go around asking to get shot by shopping in bad neighborhoods just to get a good deal. My life is worth more than that.
Great series. Thanks for the book suggestions. I tracked down a copy of Possum Living at your mention through interlibrary loan and found it very enlightening. It can be read on line as well. This past summer we supplemented our garden with purslane, dandelion and wild raspberries.
There's a fellow in Manhattan who does foraging seminars in Central Park. I think his name is Steven Brill? He has a couple of books out. I've not read them, but that may be a way for city dwellers to find options.
We used to have "large" trash days in our neighborhood but for some reason the borough stopped them. Very helpful for divesters and needers. Quite fun as well. Now it's more hit and miss with large items out with the regular trash, but it's still amazing what people throw away, even with a non profit thrift store nearby to donate to.
For one person, I agree that having a cell phone plan is pretty expensive-- but as your children get older, it might become cheaper to have a family plan.
For me and my brother, it's actually cheaper to have a cell phone than a landline, esp if you move often and have to deal with installation fees.
I have my parents and brother (college age) on my plan, and we pay $90 a month in total (taxes and fees included). It's only for 700 minutes a month, no extras, but since most people we know are on the same network, the minutes are free. Collectively we probably use only half our allotted minutes, and the rest roll over.
When/if anyone needs a family plan, check around for corporate/academic discounts, and also feel free to bargain with the account reps. Once you can switch out of your plan without penalty, it's easy to ask for more free minutes a month, or have them match a competitor's lower price. They'll do quite a bit to keep your business.
Hi Linsey:
I thoroughly enjoyed your thoughtful blog post about my book! You got exactly from it what I hoped a reader would. I agree that "speed reading" is best used for non-fiction though I use it for fiction when I want to quickly get through the decriptions and read the good parts :)
I don't know how old your kids are but I do suggest you consider waiting until they are at least in 7th greade before teaching them some of the strategies. I think kids need to have a good sight vocabulary before delving into faster reading strategies.
I actually have no idea if the acid would come along in a distillation or not.
However, there are sour beers--a lot of Belgian beers are sour, because they include lactobacilli along with the yeast. They'll turn your malt into lactic acid instead of alcohol. (The other way to get sour beer is to let acetobactors get in--they'll turn your acohol into vinager.)
Anyway, I suspect your best bet is to pretend that you were making Belgian-style beer and just decide to enjoy the sour taste.
From one SAHM, WAHM homeschooler to another, good for you! I'm home with four now, aged 8-16, two having finally crossed the bridge to adulthood. I do like having a phone on me for auto emergencies and family crises when I'm out of the house, and my Tracfone does that just fine. And I do love the occasional call just to say, "When are you coming home, Mom? I need a hug!"
To paraphrase an old armed services ad: Homeschooling Moms: We do more before noon than most people do all week.
The only good thing I've found at K-Mart is that it's usually deserted. The first line of this post is absolutely true. They have a worse selection than Wal-Mart or Target and are more expensive than both, even before the bankruptcy. Maybe they have some good deals, but I'd rather save time and gas money by going to one place where overall the prices are cheaper and the selection better.
I am married to a lady from Beihai China. We spend 3 months every summer at our home there. I am going to retire from teaching in the USA in 4 years. I could not live in the USA on my retirement.But in China I will live better then I have ever in the USA on a small retirement fund.It helps that I have learned to speak Chinese. But even before that I always was treated very well by all the Chinese I have met. I now have more friends in China then I ever had in the USA. Great people, great food, and a very friendly place to live.
Yeah, I'd go with a fake tree, too. Much as I love a real tree, I break out in rashes if I touch them (no sneezing, though). And I'm not convinced that tree farms are particularly good for the environment, either, especially if they aren't orgnic.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2004/12/how_to_pick_a_g.php
My parents buy a tree every year, but my mom also decorates this large ficus that has been in our house since before I was born. If I had it my way, we'd just decorate that tree every year. It seems to like the Christmas lights.
There are pros and cons for both. I used to have live trees, until my daughter ended up being sick every holiday. Found out the spores exacerbated her asthma, and since then, have had the same artificial tree. I wish I could go back, but can't. Too cold here to open windows in the PHL area!!!
I'm pretty sure the the "angel" trees in our mall put a kibosh on these types of present requests a couple of years ago when things started getting out of control. People were understandably upset that not having enough funds to by an iPod would qualify as "needy".
Last year, my office sponsored families from the domestic abuse prevention center, and I picked the only kid that I could afford - a 16 year-old girl who wanted a guitar. We had to purchase from local stores (no online buying, in case they needed to return the gift) and I couldn't find a starter guitar at a local music center (the store had to be within a reasonable bus-ride, because many of these shattered families had no transportation) for under $200. Finally, I just bought her a $100 gift certificate to the music store and hoped that she would find a used instrument there to her liking. Her gift wasn't even that unreasonable a request - and I doubt she knew how much a guitar can cost.
Other coworkers pooled money to buy Xboxes and video games for kids. I absolutely refused.
I'm torn on this one. I mean, I can understand why a kid might feel like this is his or her one shot at an iPod. On the other hand, I am taken aback when the requested items are so pricey; I don't spend that much on gifts for people that are in my family.
Erik--You know, I've heard so many different things about where Christmas trees come from that I don't know what to believe. When I was looking into buying a plastic one, I found articles about how much damage that much growing/cutting/regrowing does to the ground, so maybe there's things to be said both ways. But the fake tree is still cheaper in the long run...and it doesn't cause allergy attacks ;)
Alaina--What I said to Erik, plus the fact that many of us can't chip it (I live in an apartment in the middle of the city--I can't work on my car on the property, let alone chip a Christmas tree!). I think there are good reasons to buy a real tree and good reasons to buy a fake one, and you have to weigh it all and decide. But don't discount a fake tree just because it's fake.
What Erik said.
When you think about it, each Christmas tree has to grow for years before it's large enough to be an acceptable decoration. If a tree farmer sells 100 trees each year, and it takes 10 years for the tree to grow, he's got to have a field of 1000 trees at any point in time.
And when you're done with the tree, you can chip it up and use it for mulch!
So much more functional than a fake tree.
Fake trees are NOT better for the environment. They are made from chemicals (and guess what plastic is made out of). Real Xmas trees come from tree farms, which are a renewable resource. The fact that they are real doesn't mean we destroying the planet. It's not like we are clearing forests of evergreens in the wild to use for Xmas trees.
Wow! $0, did you and your daughter-in-law not even hire a midwife? I do hope for a home birth as well.
The only bad thing about the difficulty getting private student loans is that the people who are in school now or going into college may not have the money to go to school withouth them. Yes, it would be great if the schools would lower tuition or give out more grant money but that can take YEARS to happen and does not good to those that are trying to complete their degree now.
Well we don't call them that in the UK. We refer to them as mobiles.
I agree with most of what you say though I do feel they would have their use in a real emergency i.e. accident where access to landlines isn't easy.
But once we all got by quite happily without them.
People in supermarkets using them really annoy me. They go around with it glued to their ears chucking things in their baskets often with kids trailing behind them. I don't believe any conversation is that important that you need to have it in the middle of a supermarket!
They hold us all up at the check out too as they carry on their conversation while loading and paying for their groceries.
If they open this up to refinancing I think it could be a huge change to the economy. For example - I have a 30 year, fixed rate mortgage at 6.125% with a balance of $150,000. At 6.125 percent the payment is $911 (of course not including taxes, etc). If refinanced at the 4.5 percent rate the payment drops to $760. A savings of $150. The savings would be larger depending on the size of the mortgage.
Of course I would hope that people would do a straight re-fi and not a cash out but who knows. An increase of $150 per month in people's pockets could be the psychological boost the economy could use.
Me? I'd do the re-fi and use the extra cash to pay off the car, etc. No plasma TV anytime soon for our family.
Welcome to Wise Bread! I'll be sure to check it out!
Linsey Knerl
and coverage for them varies. We have, in the past, used the state-offered program (SCHIP, as it's called in some areas.) We have also paid out-of-pocket for expenses on a high-decutible health plan. All in all, we've been lucky, as our regular visits are fairly inexpensive (we see a Physician Assitance when we can), we use health clinics for shots and vaccinations, and we otherwise avoid bringing them in for anything that could turn out to be another "just a cold/flu/allergies" diagnosis. But I agree, it is costly to add kids.
Some plans are much better than others, so do your research before committing, and ask your local health and human services office about low and no-deductible discount plans or health care if you are considered below the poverty line. Keeping kids healthy is worth any stigma that may be attached to accepting help.
Linsey Knerl
I'm afraid I would have to know what kind of sector you worked in specifically, and even then, the offerings change all the time. Do you have a department within your office that offers tuition assistance? They usually have details on other private programs that would give you access to funding as well.
I wish I could help you more. Best of luck!
Linsey Knerl
I have four children. A high deductible plan doesn't work when you're at the doctor's at least once a month with one child or another. My work offers a high deductible plan and you pay $3K for a family. Then they start charging you co-pays etc.
I agree with you totally, I can't believe something like that could happen, and what's really low is that i didn't see this anywhere online except for your article! How can that be? It's terrible when something like this isn't reported....
I second Funny about Money. Walmarts are in the worst parts of town or pretty far out of town, Kmarts are very slightly better and Targets are generally in the 'a little downhill, but not that bad' kind of neighborhoods. Ergo, Target is preferred.
I live in a high crime city as it is. I don't go around asking to get shot by shopping in bad neighborhoods just to get a good deal. My life is worth more than that.
Great series. Thanks for the book suggestions. I tracked down a copy of Possum Living at your mention through interlibrary loan and found it very enlightening. It can be read on line as well. This past summer we supplemented our garden with purslane, dandelion and wild raspberries.
There's a fellow in Manhattan who does foraging seminars in Central Park. I think his name is Steven Brill? He has a couple of books out. I've not read them, but that may be a way for city dwellers to find options.
We used to have "large" trash days in our neighborhood but for some reason the borough stopped them. Very helpful for divesters and needers. Quite fun as well. Now it's more hit and miss with large items out with the regular trash, but it's still amazing what people throw away, even with a non profit thrift store nearby to donate to.
Thanks again.
For one person, I agree that having a cell phone plan is pretty expensive-- but as your children get older, it might become cheaper to have a family plan.
For me and my brother, it's actually cheaper to have a cell phone than a landline, esp if you move often and have to deal with installation fees.
I have my parents and brother (college age) on my plan, and we pay $90 a month in total (taxes and fees included). It's only for 700 minutes a month, no extras, but since most people we know are on the same network, the minutes are free. Collectively we probably use only half our allotted minutes, and the rest roll over.
When/if anyone needs a family plan, check around for corporate/academic discounts, and also feel free to bargain with the account reps. Once you can switch out of your plan without penalty, it's easy to ask for more free minutes a month, or have them match a competitor's lower price. They'll do quite a bit to keep your business.
Hi Linsey:
I thoroughly enjoyed your thoughtful blog post about my book! You got exactly from it what I hoped a reader would. I agree that "speed reading" is best used for non-fiction though I use it for fiction when I want to quickly get through the decriptions and read the good parts :)
I don't know how old your kids are but I do suggest you consider waiting until they are at least in 7th greade before teaching them some of the strategies. I think kids need to have a good sight vocabulary before delving into faster reading strategies.
You might be interested in knowing I just launched a new online speed reading course that takes 3 hours to deliver (maybe a little longer to complete). I'd love you to check it out at http://www.revitupreading.com/online_speed_reading_programs.asp.
Thanks for the glowing and accurate review. Let me know if I can help you in any way!
Abby Marks Beale
I actually have no idea if the acid would come along in a distillation or not.
However, there are sour beers--a lot of Belgian beers are sour, because they include lactobacilli along with the yeast. They'll turn your malt into lactic acid instead of alcohol. (The other way to get sour beer is to let acetobactors get in--they'll turn your acohol into vinager.)
Anyway, I suspect your best bet is to pretend that you were making Belgian-style beer and just decide to enjoy the sour taste.
Here's a page on Belgian sour beers:
http://belgianstyle.com/mmguide/style/sour.html
I had A air lock knocked off my carbouy during secondary fermentation. smells good but taste sour.could I distill it
From one SAHM, WAHM homeschooler to another, good for you! I'm home with four now, aged 8-16, two having finally crossed the bridge to adulthood. I do like having a phone on me for auto emergencies and family crises when I'm out of the house, and my Tracfone does that just fine. And I do love the occasional call just to say, "When are you coming home, Mom? I need a hug!"
To paraphrase an old armed services ad: Homeschooling Moms: We do more before noon than most people do all week.
The only good thing I've found at K-Mart is that it's usually deserted. The first line of this post is absolutely true. They have a worse selection than Wal-Mart or Target and are more expensive than both, even before the bankruptcy. Maybe they have some good deals, but I'd rather save time and gas money by going to one place where overall the prices are cheaper and the selection better.
I am married to a lady from Beihai China. We spend 3 months every summer at our home there. I am going to retire from teaching in the USA in 4 years. I could not live in the USA on my retirement.But in China I will live better then I have ever in the USA on a small retirement fund.It helps that I have learned to speak Chinese. But even before that I always was treated very well by all the Chinese I have met. I now have more friends in China then I ever had in the USA. Great people, great food, and a very friendly place to live.