Tiff, you do sound like a newlywed, have a great anniversary. ((L))

Happy birthday, JocelynP!! ((^))

That's interesting, cd. Sometimes I am tempted to move to that city just because I would have job security and more money. But when I start giving it serious thought, I go into panic mode too. If I go there I will get a raise, and if I stay in Austin and have to start over doing something else, I will probably take a pay cut. These are the options I keep weighing. But when it comes down to it, you cannot put a price on your quality of life. That's why I want to stay, even if it means less money.

rave: my sister. newly engaged, and preparing to move to london. she deserves the best. but! she's my star of the week because last friday night (thought i was just having dinner, etc...) she called and said she had u2 tickets. for that evening. money is tight, but i do not have the power to resist bono. ((L)) so i said, "sure! how much?" they were free, and they were vip box private room seats!!!! =D>
i actually thought someone was playing a joke on me. i should stop being so cynical. and the show was AWESOME! ((8))

rave: second job started this week, and it went really well! i really enjoyed it.

rave: random acts of kindness.

rave: on line banking. it's great! why did i wait so long?

ethel...i've been through north conway. it's very nice! i enjoyed it.

p_m...you must trust your instinct! nothing is forever i know, and life is give a little, take a little...but if you're not feelin' it, you have to go with your instinct. therefore, you will find your niche and you'll know it when you see it.

:) Happy Friday!

Raves- Looking forwrd to my son's soccer game tomorrow.
Hitting some local wineries - they are not Napa, but the views are nice, the wine ok, company very good!!!
Great co-workers
Everyone in the family is healthy- knock on wood!
My 14 yr. old visiting her college sisiter in Dallas - they are having a ball. Oh, the spending though!!!

Rants- Seeing older retired relatives not have enough money to retire the way they deserve after raising children, private schools, working hard, etc.. It breaks my heart.

P_M - Where is the dust bowl- just out of curiosity!!!???

Thanks for the advice otto, I completely agree. Annesherrod, I prefer not to name the city on the board because I have said some negative things about it. I would really hate to offend any posters who live there now or anyone who grew up there because the people out there are so nice. I can tell you it is a very small city in the middle of a flat desert with little vegetation except what's planted and irrigated. (unless you count brush and tumbleweed as vegetation) If the people there want to see greenery, it's at least a 4-5 hour drive in any direction. Also there's not much entertainment in that city.

Happy Friday Everyone in Fodorland!

Rave:Taking the kids plus two cousins to Disneyland next weekend for two nights!

Rave:My big boys (6 and 4)have already started packing their backpacks and found their Mickey Mouse Ear hats(The black felt ones with their names embroidered!) and put them in. Then they remembered that Wade, 16 months, doesn't have one and my oldest offered to share his until Wade get his own!

Rave: Well into planning our just after Christmas trip to Edmonton and Banff!

Rave: The kindness of the Fodorites on the Canada board who are helping me!

Rave: Lunch with friends today from out of state whom we haven't seen in three years!

Rave: Chicago White Sox and October

Rave: Family

Rant: How I see so many peers, including myself, treated in the workplace after age 55 with 20, 30 years or more of working for others under their belts. No good deed goes unpunished.

Rant: Women who have worked for others their whole lives left with little to show for it and less retirement funds than it takes to live, let alone travel - couples, as noted, sometimes as well.

Rave: Glorious trees and beautiful weather. Actually, we are the dust bowl, I guess. IL, IN and some parts of Iowa are more than 11 inches under for rainfall averages since June. The last time that happened it was 1871 in October and there was a big fire- the Great Chicago Fire. But luckily we have irrigation systems now and brick buildings as well.

One of the most amazing facts, that few realize: The Indiana and Warren Dunes areas were all heavily forested until the Great Chicago Fire. In the two years following 1871 all the forests were cut down and floated to build the new Chicago. We LOVE the Dunes!

Hope the rain stops for all who have too much.

Rave: Spent a great weekend in Hudson Valley with husband's family. Lovely old house with lots of fireplaces and nooks and crannies to get lost in. Rained all weekend but if you had to be stuck in a house this was the house to be stuck in.

Rave: Upcoming trip to NY.

Rave: My job is reasonably secure. I've been here 16 years now and have no desire to leave.

Rant: School situation still not resolved. Do we move to a community more willing to fund the schools and leave a town we love or do we stay put and opt for private school? Private schools scare me - ie rich kids growing up too fast with too much freedom.

Rant: Contractors - why don't they return phone calls? Why do they take our plans and never give us a quote? If its this much work just to hire someone I can't image what it will be like to actually get them to show up and do the work. My friend at work hired a design firm to rework some off the shelf house plans. They reworked them alright - to include an indoor pool!!! Hello - who asked for an indoor pool?

Prayers for all victims of natural disasters.

Rant: A new real estate agency has taken over the leases of a development near the area I grew up in. The previous owner turned a blind eye to some of the longtime tenants having dogs because they were reliable tenants who kept the properties in top condition, were good neighbors, their dogs were well behaved, quiet and never caused anyone any problems. New agency has just served eviction notices to these tenants. The letter of eviction is sarcastic and vindictive. Given the housing shortage of in this area, some of the tenants will have to euthanize their dogs.

Bennnie...It sounds like you want all your tax dollars to go to the school budget, and it sounds like you are in Massachusetts. Tell me which town your in and I will tell you a better one to move to. Prop 2 1/2 is here to stay and the voters approved it to control tax hikes.

Rave: Nuclear Power

Rant: NRC's tepid response to ABC's Loose Nukes

Rant: A large potted variegated Ficus blew over and smashed the pot. The Ficus and the replacement pot are both too large and heavy for my housekeeper and me to deal with.

M

RANT:
Having to do laundry, dusting, cleaning up the dishes and having to go to Costco for meat.
Rave:
Not having to do any of the above if I don't want and play some golf.

X(X(X(

My body is beaten, head still hurts and I gained 5lbs from our Chicago trip.

\:D/\:D/\:D/

My body is beaten, head still hurts and I gained 5lbs from our Chicago trip.

Big Rave: Mrs Kal and I meeting the lovely "makai1".

Another boring trip report to follow as soon as I find my desk under all the papers. :`(

Rave--Taking the kids and their friends to the pumpkin patch/corn maze/apple orchard this morning.

Rave--Had a friend from WA here all week.

Rave--Can't think of any rants:)

Moneygirl--Banff is absolutely stunning! Enjoy it!

Rave: fodors friends who remember birthdays. :) Thank you so much starrsville, bonniebroad, and P_M! 33 tomorrow. Can I stop counting now?

Rave: Cool nights and sunny, crisp days. I love fall.

Rave: I second MaiTai's Italy report! I had the honor of meeting him and his wife Tracy at a SoCal GTG last year. Tom is just as you would imagine: handsome, charming, and eloquent. Great voice, too.

Rant: one tragedy after another. Is bird flu next?

Happy Friday everyone!

ahhnold - of course not all tax funds need to go to schools, however when you live in a regional school district and all three towns are taxing at well below Prop 2 1/2 levels - all together over $1 million below what Prop 2 1/2 would allow - and your teachers are paid well below state average, and the spending per student is in the bottom 2% of the entire state, something is very very wrong. The money is there, NO OVERRIDE NEEDED. We are talking about increases so that we can pay to heat the buildings and fix leaky roofs. We are not talking about fancy equipment, expensive gymnasiums or silly electives. We are talking about a tax increase of about $100 per household. Its one dinner out.

I would love to hear your suggestions on what towns would be good.

Happy Friday!

Mini-Rant: It's still raining here in NJ! I don't have to remember to water the new grass we planted, but some sunshine would be nice! Thankfully we don't have flooding in our area.

Rave: One week 'til the NJ/NY GTG with 22 Fodorites planning to attend! :)

Rave: 8-X 2 Weeks 'til my N'Awlins theme (~~) Halloween Party & I'm on track with planning & preparations. Hardly any negative RSVP's too!:[

Rave: DH & I bought two "new" (new to us) cars this week! One via e-bay that we were amazed to get for $5,500 below book value. I'll be back driving stick shortly! Woo-hoo!

What is a "Flying spaghetti monster"?8-}

GoT how is miss Jen ((@)) going to like the new puppy?

Happy Birthday JocelynP! ((^))

Happy Weekend Everyone! Now where is the ((#))?? Trish

Alisa: I hear you on the student loans -- ugh. Congrats on your marriage, however!

Paula: Thoughts for your family.

Rave: Crisp fall weather, and orange leaves.

Rant: So many leaves to rake, tomorrow.

Rave: Free tickets to the symphony!

Have a good weekend!

rant: just paid the deposit on rental house on provo for next march.
rave: just paid the deposit on rental house on provo for next march.
rave: mr. gotravel's new puppy

Bennie....overides are needed. If the budget is increased by 2 1/2, the voters need to approve.

Move to Winchester,Manchester-Essex,Hamilton-Wenham,Sudbury,Needham,Weston, etc.


If the best school system is your desire, move there and pay the price. That is how the system is set up.

Rave: Nice trip last weekend to Disney World, even with the humidity. My kids loved the Halloween Party.

Rant: Rain, rain, rain here in the NYC area.

Rant/Rave: The situation at Delphi is going to be a real mess. The UAW and management have drawn lines in the sand. But, it's a fight that needs to happen in this county because the checks are coming due for decades of outsized benefits, the time is now to figure out who picks up the tab.