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MTgal

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About MTgal

  • Birthday 04/14/1956

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  1. Part of the wonderful aroma more than likely came from the product used to "fertilize" the area -- check with staff who worked with the "honey pot" crews...
  2. MTgal

    Mick Quinn

    Found this in the guest book. Not sure it's the same person or even if the email is active but... Name: Mick Quinn Email: mickquinn@tin.ie Date: 1/6/00 Time: 3:21:35 PM Comments
  3. A single woman could be a Twig leader, even branch leader but when she married she was only allowed to teach women's fellowships and children's fellowships.
  4. Billy Ray really is the dad of the girl that plays Hannah Montana -- she is his daughter (in real life). Back to High Country Caravan -- it was a great break from the routine in the Word Processing Dept. That was one of the few good memories I had of being on staff my interim year. Another was working on the dinner theater production.
  5. Grads had to attend all the sessions not just the first and last one.
  6. My3Cents, I agree about the curfew. I've told here thather curfew is for me -- I don't sleep if I don't know that she is safe. I have 2 younger children, one is 14, the other is 9. The 14 year old can function well with me taking naps if I need to but the 9 year old can't, he is autistic. We also live in an area where young girls are abducted, raped and killed far to frequently. If she checks in with me on a regular basis, I don't mind her staying out late. It's those days when she doesn't check in because she "doesn't want to disturb me". This tells me she is up to something she knows she shouldn't be doing. When I tell her "a red flag" is popping up, she doesn't argue with me any more. She's wandered into too many situations that proved my warning sign is not to be argued with. I hope she gets those warnings signs too. I know she will eventually move out. I hope it is on good terms when she does, but not good enough terms that she ends up living back at home every 6 months. Shellon, I agree about keeping them talking. Sometimes that is the only reason I call her on her cell phone. Just to chat about her day, what her plans are, who she is with and eventually, when will she be home to take care of her responsiblities? The times she challenges me is when she is with certain people, like the friend that was arrested for DUI (at 17) and their parents are still "discussing" the consequences 3 weeks later. I know we have our tiffs but I always remind her that I am willing to talk to her as an adult as long as she doesn't get an attitude or try to manipulate the conversation to point fingers at others. Her favorite position is to try to accuse me of ignoring the same actions in her siblings. This is the tactic when I ask her when she plans to do her chores. Everyone in our house has chores, it's just part of being in the family. I remind her that she hasn't been around enough during the day to know what their consequences have been. I know she is trying to find where she fits in. She has things she is interested in and when she decides to be committed to them she needs very little advice or encouragement. She wants to move out the day she turns 18. I hope she doesn't so she can finish high school without having to worry about work and studying. Right now I'm not to worried that she will do that since she doesn't have a job. I know she's thinking about it because she's told her sister to give her dishes for Christmas and towels for her birthday. I also know most of her talk is her being prideful and boasting that it is something she will be able to do and her parents can't stop her.It's also her way of processing and thinking about the situation and how she is going to handle it. I'm glad she is thinking it through, it shows me she is maturing and will be ready to be on her own. She mentioned last week that she wants to take a class the high school offers to help them learn how to prepare to live on their own. I told her it was a good idea, especially if it included how to look for a place to live, plan and keep a budget and work with landlords so she doesn't get ripped off. I guess the reason I started this thread was to get feedback. I don't want to control her with rules but at the same time I want her to respect that there are rules while she lives in this house (without saying "because I said so" or "because I'm your mother"). I'm just processing through this transitional stage of our relationship. Thanks everyone for your input.
  7. I'm sure their names have been posted before but just wondering how they are and where? Are they still in and on staff?
  8. I believe I was born again when I was 16 at a revival in my home town. I heard about SIT from one of my best friends who was telling me about her mom's neighbors having home Bible meetings and SIT. When I asked another best friend about it, because we had gone to Sunday School together when we were young, she told me Methodists don't believe in it. So, when I heard it at my first TWI event I wasn't surprised, just relieved that someone might be able to explain it all to me finally.
  9. Kit I had a similar experience with one of my girls. She was considered TAG in 2nd grade and there was all this hoopla then the teacher in charge of the TAG program announced that the parents of the TAG children would be the teachers since the district had cut funds for the program. They asked me to do a session but I refused. I told them it was a lawsuit waiting to happen, me alone in a portable classrom with 7 students. Me with no teaching certificate and not on the payroll so no insurance...the program never got off the ground. This child is now a senior in high school and taking AP classes. She only needs 1.75 to graduate so she is taking all the AP classes she can since they are the first year classes offered at the community college. She pays $45 for the class instead of $300. Congrats to Ryan. Keep up the good work!
  10. I appreciate the input and comments. It's just what I needed, a conversation with others who have gone through it or are going through it. I've come to realize that my duties as a parent are changing when it comes to her. I am now more of a mentor that reminds her that there are house rules that apply to everyone that lives here. I reminded her the other day that she is close enough to the legal age for being considered an adult and that her decisions will be meet with adult consequences. In other words, if you are willing to break the law you must be willing to pay the price if caught. Last night my daugher helped her aunt and uncle at a big dinner party at their house. Her cousin was there to help also but didn't do anything. My daughter took the lead, walking around serving appetizers, getting drink (non-alcohol) refills for people. She helped put out the food buffet then went around delivering coffee and collecting dishes. She even stayed late and helped clean the kitchen. She was very interested in a suggestion I made that she contact the steel drum band that was there and see if she could help work parties they play at (if they aren't already catered). Today she said she'd call a friend who's dad owns a restaurant and see if he would train her to waitress. We had a long discussion about not giving up and doing different things to get experience and something on a resume. My husband and I decided several months ago to not hand her money for anything. She's old enough to get a job (she could work for her dad) and if she doesn't like the clothes or hygiene products we buy then she can buy her own. I do give her money for gas to get to her cross country practices but $5 a week doesn't get her very far. She came up with a solution. She charges her friends to give them rides any where. She puts half in the tank and keeps half. Gotta give her kudos for that idea. She wanted a new cell phone so I made a list of chores she could do around the house to earn the money. She also has chores she does to pay for her car insurance. It's teaching her to be responsible and that she has to work for what she wants. I finally told her that I don't like reminding her to take care of her responsibilities because I feel like I'm nagging and I don't want that kind of relationship with her. If she would just step up and get the job done there wouldn't be this tension between us. Something clicked for her and now she makes sure all her chores are done before she heads out the door. I make sure I thank her for being so responsible. She did come to me last week and asked for money to go out for breakfast with her friends. I told her that is what her allowance is for. She said she could either pay her cell phone bill with that money or go out to eat. I just looked at her and told her it was her decision. She knows the consequence of her not paying her bill is she has to hand over her phone until it's paid. She stayed home and had a bowl of cereal. I did come to the realization that I don't want to force her hand when she challenges me. I want us to have a good relationship so when she does move out she does it because she is ready and willing to do so.
  11. Thanks Shaz I know it's another transition time in our lives and I try to not take her attitudes personally. I keep reminding her that her decisions are now considered adult decisions with adult consequences. She may decide to do something that will change the course of her life, alter her future, make big changes, etc. and there will be some things that her father and I can't fix for her. I remember at this age that I was never home but was glad home was there because it was a "soft place to land". I did take her for a skills assessment at the community college. She went reluctently but came away with a better idea of what types of careers she would like to look into. What we can't understand is how she approaches us. Instead of coming to us and saying she would like to discuss changing her curfew she storms in, says she wants to be emancipated because living here sucks. Then after about 30 minutes of questions with snarls as responses I get a glimpse of what she's thinking. I do keep in mind that the way we handle her now is developing our relationship for the future. As much as I want to kick her out the door sometimes I don't want to drive her away or cause such a gap between us that she won't feel comfortable coming home if she needs to. Thanks for the support.
  12. My oldest turns 18 in 3 1/2 months. She keeps throwing this in my face when I remind her of her curfew and responsibilities. In the past 3 months I've dealt with her wanting to be emancipated to her wanting to live here indefinitely until she decides what she wants to do with her life. She is some where between teetering on the edge of the nest wanting to burst into flight, never looking back and not wanting to leave the warmth and security of the nest. Some days I wish I could push her over the edge of the nest and move the nest before she can fly back in. When she was born she was in ICU for the first 7 days of her life. We didn't get to hold her until she was 3 days old. I often wonder if we just didn't bond because of that.
  13. MTgal

    Breakfast Recipes

    Breakfast Burritos Scrambled eggs Tortillas Grated Cheese Salsa Sour Cream Sprouts (You can add shredded potatoes if you have left over baked spuds.) Easy to make. Each one adds their own ingredients.
  14. Our Cubmaster, who was the Day Camp Director, is going to Jamboree with his son and a couple others from his Troop. I assume it's huge but if you are there and see Troop 177 from Oregon, it's them. The boys I recruited are good friends with my son. They are all techno geeks who will play a game of basketball or soccer but don't like the competition of a team. They all work well with my son, who has Aspergers Syndrom, a form of autism. They are all very protective of him and when in situations where others are "pushing his buttons" I have actually seen them step between my son and the other person and direct the attention away from my son. They don't know he has AS, they have learned his limits and what happens when he is pushed from being with him at school. They are great kids and will be wonderful caring men. I have been on our pack committee for a year now as treasurer. I enjoy working with the leaders but our pack is small and as usual I am part of the 10% that helps out. I told our cubmaster the solution to the same 5 people doing everything is to increase the number of boys so there are more parents to tap into. I am ashamed to admit it but witnessing and undershepherding tips come in handy with recruiting and establishing an involved group of parents. I am also hoping that my husband will eventually step up and be part of the camping, fishing and hiking events. He said he would go to Webelos Weekend with our son next year. I figure it's about 1 hour a week per boy! Oh yea, I'm the Popcorn Kernel too! And I put out the pack newsletter. Communication, communication, communication!
  15. MTgal

    20 years

    Congratulations to all the folks that were married in 1985! We just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary, which means it has also been 20 years since we graduated from the corps. Wow -- my life is not where I thought it would be way back then.
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