<p>I’m just jealous because some of you have an abundance of green squares and I only have 2 lousy green squares ! :)</p>
<p>I just plugged sevmom so she wouldn’t be jealous and RM and the box even says, “Maybe they’ll give you reputation points too.” Why would a sensible reputation scheme suggest symmetry? Well, maybe it will go away.</p>
<p>Thanks so much, shawbridge. I am eternally grateful!</p>
<p>Going back a few pages (my, we’ve been a chatty bunch to start the new year)… I agree the insurance thing is ridiculous. We would be in a terrifically hard position to come up with 30k in upfront fees, especially this time of year with tuitions due etc. I honestly am embarrassed by our gov’t and that the first bill introduced in the senate came from MN in the shape of repealing all of Obamacare. It’s grandstanding at the expense of real pain in this country because for one, that’s not going to happen and two, it’s shameful to not put the plight of people in the NE during winter at the head of the line. </p>
<p>My experience with other threads is mixed. I see some where I might even start to write, get it out of my system (more or less) and then not even post. </p>
<p>I will look forward to the private FB group to be honest… I know that you don’t have to be “friends” in order to belong to a private group (since we had one for the family reunion and I not only am not friends with ALL my relatives, I was unfriended by uncle due to my views on gay rights. He did attempt to refriend me after the holiday vacation, but I have yet to accept but can still share in posts on the family page. Short story gone long just to say, I hope all the regulars here either have a facebook or will be willing to set up a private one. Truth is, I have lots of friends who have FB accounts for solely such purposes as invites/events and special shopping offers. </p>
<p>LOVE the blog to book idea. Especially your D’s as I followed her blog. I’ve done the same with other friend’s kids - especially last year when so many friend’s of S’s were abroad. I am thinking of starting my own up again - not publishable certainly - but with the wedding and the listing of the house, I figure I will have plenty of material and truth is, writing helps me calm and center my thoughts. Plus, I will hope the comment sections offers some good advice from at the least my family who will feel an obligation to read it! My sister has a blog about the remodel of her mid-century modern house. I’ve enjoyed it, and actually learned quite a bit a long the way about things mostly outside my budget.</p>
<p>But as for the real estate thing… I had two realtor meetings yesterday. To be honest, I don’t really know what I should be looking for. The one “couple” seemed incredibly nice, but truth is, I don’t know how good they’ll be if something goes array during an inspection or whatever to get us to close. Im asking number of listings/sold data and what percentage of asking price are they getting in their lists. I am assuming anything above 95% is pretty good, but I also imagine that they could be using a loop hole (original contract expires and they lower the price on a new contract etc). Not sure how to ask that question without highlighting my ability to be a cynic. Anyway… I still have work to do in cleaning and organizing, but I’ll continue to meet with them and then have a few back to give me their punch list of what could improve the asking price (and to what extent), their suggested price and their marketing plan. The one guy said in our price bracket, you want to leave a little mystery and so they don’t do virtual tours at all because all that does is eliminate buyers. Anyway… I’ll be interested to hear what they have to say. But this much I know… while I am NOT looking per se, I can almost guarantee that something we had no idea about will turn up during the inspection and I want a strong negotiator on my side to get us to closing. </p>
<p>Last nugget - made the payment for my eye surgery on the 15th. Since I am doing both the upper and lowers, I imagine I won’t be feeling too well. Truth is, I can take not feeling well for a day or two and even looking like a prize fighter for a couple weeks, but not feeling well for a couple of weeks while looking like a domestic violence victim would suck, especially when I have stuff to get done.</p>
<p>Put S on the plane back to school this morning. His room was left only partially disheveled. But he also left me a bunch of stuff to pack in a box and ship to him. I have a feeling he’s going to have a lot of crap to pack up come May. As it is, my sister bought him a mattress this fall! Seriously, an indulgent aunt is a double-edged sword on many levels.</p>
<p>Lastly, I always love clicking on “post quick reply” when it’s clear I’ve spent entirely too much time ready and writing for any of my time on CC to be called “quick”</p>
<p>Not sure exacty how a facebook group works. I read the info on starting a group and saw there are 3 levels-open,closed, or secret. I assume any group would be “secret”, where it would not show up on our timelines or newsfeeds when we post?</p>
<p>exactly sevmom. Our family group is a secret group. It shows up on my timeline when someone posts, but you have to be an invited member. Basically the administrator adds the names of those invited and can add anyone, even people they aren’t directly friends with - as long as they have whatever name their facebook account is under. (for example, because D is a teacher, it is suggested they do not use their last names at all so her facebook account is just her first and middle names and she won’t show up on any search of even her first name due to privacy settings.)</p>
<p>Moda, I have trouble following this thread at times. Who mentioned blog to book? What is the book about?</p>
<p>sevmom, the CC-related FB group I’m a member of is secret. Posts show up on your own timeline/newsfeed, but can’t be seen by anyone else. So if you aren’t a member of the secret group, you aren’t aware of/can’t read anything posted, even if you are FB friends with a member.</p>
<p>Modadunn, we’re also wondering how much “stuff” D now has at college. She has to put it in storage every summer (and during study abroad), and I know she’s gotten rid of some things but acquired others. Everything currently fits in her dorm room, though. </p>
<p>Over the break, one of S’s former HS teachers invited him and some of his friends to compete on his team at a bar’s trivia night competition. Last week they won, beating several professors at our state’s flagship, due to S’s awesome sports trivia knowledge. Last night they were tied for first place going into the final question. This contest allows the teams to ‘wager’ their points on the final question, a la Jeopardy. Last week they wagered and got the question right. Last night they missed the final question. Forgot to ask if the other team got the final question right or if just wagered points differently? Final question they missed last night: during 2012, what two females were the subject of the most internet searches?</p>
<p>I probably would have guessed the same as S’s team. They guessed: Kate Middleton and Hillary Rodham Clinton. </p>
<p>The correct answer: Kate Middleton was number two. Number one female searched in 2012: Whitney Houston!</p>
<p>Aren’t you glad you know that now?</p>
<p>I don’t know how the FB groups work either. I vote for whatever doesn’t show up on a timeline, etc as S is a major “nose” and has mentioned cc in passing. he has no idea that I post here but if he even suspected at all…not good.</p>
<p>I was not a member of this group when it was the HS Class of 09 as I merely lurked on cc until Jan 09 and at that point D was ED so I didn’t post there. In June of that year I was upset at something and thankfully, thankfully posted here rather than somewhere else. Looking back not only am I very happy to have found such a great group, but I can only imagine the flaming I would have gotten from other posters. It would not have been pretty.</p>
<p>I would have guessed Kate Middleton and Kim Kardashian. :o</p>
<p>We are so honored to have you here FallGirl! :)</p>
<p>shawbridge, for Christmas I gave my daughter a printed, hard-bound book of the blog she kept while doing study abroad. She was totally surprised and thought it was really cool.</p>
<p>One reason I did it: her first college internship in broadcast news she built up quite a portfolio of work, both in articles she wrote and in video. Then the TV station was sold and poof, all the links on her resume didn’t work any more. I don’t know that would happen with her blog, but I thought it would make a nice keepsake. It turned out really nice.</p>
<p>FallGirl, I am in the same position as you. If either of my boys read what I post, I am concerned that they could consider it a betrayal of their trust. I find this group to be helpful, but don’t want to do something my kids would not support. I try to take comfort in the anonymity guise of cc, but real identities are deductable without too much sluething, in too many cases.</p>
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<p>Shaw, try following from the west coast. As Oregon101 can also testify, there are mornings when we get up and on CC and discover 2-3 pages of posts! </p>
<p>So, in a secret/private FB group, do all your posts to FB show up? Or only those you post to the “secret” group? Do the posts (links, comments, etc.) of people not in the group, made to your regular FB page, show up on your private page ?</p>
<p>Has this already been answered? With Shaw, I have trouble following this thread at times …</p>
<p>No… nothing shows up anywhere but in the private group itself. No one would even know you belonged to a secret group. It’s actually much more confidential than anything on CC, especially for a group. While I know my kids know I post on CC “once and a while”, I too think they would consider it a breech or something if they knew how often I wrote about them specifically. But too, facebook isn’t exactly a format for long rambles, but it IS nice for pictures and factoids. My sister had arranged for special rates at a hotel, had the link and all the numbers etc. And we could even set up a secret event to see who wanted to do what for the time we were there over thanksgiving. It worked so great, we have no intention of closing the Reunion group even though the reunion is past!</p>
<p>And that sucks about the media links C_q!</p>
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<p>Seconded. I think reddit operates in this fashion, with the option to upvote or downvote posts. As much as I like NM, she is not the poster I am going to ask for advice on autism on; I would ask CFang. By the current system, if I were a new poster, I might assume that NM had superior knowledge/expertise on everything. With all due respect, I don’t think CC thought this completely through. And I say this as the poster who started out with a reputation of “infamous in these parts”. Evidently everyone who joined CC on a certain date started with that reputation, but at the time I was thinking what the heck did I do wrong? </p>
<p>I was added to two “secret” facebook groups for my college which I recently opted out of. I found it became much like certain CC threads where if you argued against the majority viewpoint, you were quickly shouted down and ridiculed. I didn’t care for it. I would like to think that we wouldn’t do that, but one never knows. </p>
<p>sevmom, hope all goes well for your S2’s clearance. D had to do that before her summer internship and it is kind of a pain. It can also take some time, so good thing he is getting started now.</p>
<p>Thanks, sabaray. This same employer did not require a clearance for his internship last summer but they want it for full time employment. It is pretty involved so I hope all goes well. Actually, it better go well as he really has no backup plan!</p>
<p>Oh no, now that I’ve found you, please don’t abandon me when you all leave to a secret FB group! 
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<p>Z-I hope your husband and his family will be able to celebrate such a long life. The loss of older family members, as well as the recent adulthood of my kids has me contemplating generational changes, too.</p>
<p>Success in deconstructing Christmas decor today. I had better not get any grief from PlantH who tends to be extremely talented (way more so than I) with box and closet packing efficiency! </p>
<p>S1 has just submitted his final grad school app, his safety school, in case he doesn’t get the job he so wants or admission to the very selective schools he’s already applied to. S2 is enjoying his last days of winter break before school starts up again. Then it’s back to the grind of six AP classes, and the uncertainty of what the future will bring with college. Remember those good old days with the '13 kids?</p>
<p>We had a secret FB group last summer with the 2 other couples we went to Spain with. It worked exactly as advertised - no one else on FB even knew it existed.</p>
<p>I think the idea behind a FB group for us was to use it to plan a meet-up, not to move this great conversation somewhere else. Have I got that right?</p>
<p>sabaray, I had to smile at your characterization of alums from our mutual alma mater. I sometimes follow along if its really controversial, but I never post in those groups.</p>
<p>green squares appeared during my hiatus from CC. I’m trying to catch up and keep up with the thread, so I haven’t even tried to figure out what they mean…</p>
<p>PlantMom, I’m jealous of that back-up plan. S2 was initially lukewarm about grad school but now refuses to consider it at all. His current back-up plan is to show up at job sites, hoping for work as a day-laborer on a rig while sleeping in his car. Why that sounds better to him than hanging out in grad school is beyond me, but I am trying to accept that he has preferences that might differ from my own.</p>
<p>sevmom, good luck with the clearance process and second sabaray that it is good that they are starting early.</p>
<p>Not thinking of abandonment, just as a point place where names, plans etc for a reunion type event might be conducted with more privacy amid details.</p>
<p>Yeah… the Christmas stuff is still littered all over the lower level, but I’ve managed to reduce the “left overs” so that I have an entire storage box free for other crap not yet ready to throw or give away. Will pack up kids’ rooms so that when they eventually have a place of their own of more permanence, they can go through the stuff I deemed worthy enough to save. However, I also know there is a portfolio of elementary school artwork that I doubt anyone would want and yet… the garbage is not in their immediate future.</p>