Lost Chart & Raise the Roof

But just think of the wonderful richness of friends you would make. I wouldn't even ask for a discount and would be more than willing to help out for stash.

Lucille

p.s. I'm soooooooo disappointed in you not considering it important for the "kids" to go to college. Just think of how much mischief they could get into with a graduate degree.

RD&H

Over here there is a joke that goes like this: An Engineering graduate asks, "How does it work?" A Science graduate asks, "Why does it work?" An Accountancy Graduate asks, "How much will it cost?" An English graduate asks, "Do you want fries with that?"

I think most of the systems have a percentage kickback to the vendor that sold the tickets. When my dad had his shop years ago, in Florida, that was a big deal, selling the lottery tix and if anyone won, he got a fee from the lottery people. There may also be a certain fee they get paid based on how much sales they have as well, but I'm not sure. But, having a winner also gets the shop publicity.

Nope - you can do alright - depending on many things. I'm quite sure that in shops that do in-house framing, that's supporting the LNS.

ellice

It's a great thing to do - just takes patience and perserverence. The other thing that many states have is the program where you sign up with a child's birth, or when they're young, and that locks the tuitions, etc.

I know my DB did that with his kids, and told them "state school for undergrad" and you can go wherever for grad school - so he's paying tons with having gotten as much financial aid (loans) for law school for the niece.

Our godkids were lucky enough to get some academic awards - one got half her tuition at BU. The one currently deciding between CMU & MIT is definitely down to deciding on money (the pros/cons for the schools weigh pretty evenly), etc.

It's definitely a hard thing. We're actually thinking of since we have no kids, endowing a couple of small scholarships at our alma maters. When I was an undergrad, primarily with academic scholarships, my dad's business got closed due to a race riot thing in Miami. I was so tight with tuition, etc, that I was able to get another scholarship from the Dean for $500, and that made a huge difference for me. Nowadays, that would have to be about $1500, but.....I was able to apply and qualify under some weird thing for an engineering student in need, etc.

Ellice

Miss Kitty would love to go to Mommy's alma mater, "Mew"lenberg.

But she already has a doctorate in Pestiferousness. She finally succeeded in pushing the last of the stuff off the lamp table so she can sit on it, and seemed greatly confused why Mommy was hitting her with that throw pillow and scolding her for "helping with the housecleaning".

Cute, Bruce, but you missed Lucille's joke. My "kids", whatever they graduate in, will only ask "Meow?"

Well, then we'd better not open in Sacramento. :(

A minor local celebrity opened a little store, and on the advice of a business consultant, instead of hiring employees, she had friends and family help out whenever they came in. Some state inspector happened to come in while they were having a work party and slapped her with a citation for failing to pay them minimum wage and failure to have worker's comp insurance for them.

I contemplated that with all the tidying I have done in various stores while trying to find something, I ought to be able to use that ruling to demand pay and insurance.

It explained why when I did some work at a friend's business he first handed me some cash "for your time" and then asked me to chip "for your dinner" and took the money right back. He didn't want to run afoul of the law requiring him to pay me minimum wage. (Though there's no law that says he has to pay for his employee's dinner.) He did, of course, have work comp, since he had regular employees, and that would have covered me as a "temporary".

I did indeed miss that. I shall have to try harder.

I have 12-year-old twins, and even now in jr. high, I'm on them about keeping up grades and developing good study habits in anticipation of high school, when that GPA is going to be a big factor in determining financial aid. We will definitely qualify for need-based. (I'm a single parent, and even though I have an associate's degree and work full-time, I make less than the average person without a high school diploma [but that's a whole other topic!] according to a chart I received from the Ohio Tuition Authority.) Anyhow, if my kids keep a

4.0 in high school, they can get a grant through an endowment in our county that would leave them with less than $1000 a year to attend Ohio State (decreasing aid with decreasing GPA), and if they live at home and go to the branch here in town for 2 years, that would eliminate room and board. They will also qualify for a grant from Miami Univerisity of Ohio for free tuition for Ohio residents on need- based criteria but would still have to cover room and board; however, that is still a 50% or more savings. So while I have a bit invested in the pre-paid tuition program, you can bet I'm keeping my eyes and ears open for stuff like this now, and I'm sure there are other similar programs elsewhere. Our goal is for them to graduate college debt-free, but the idea of 2 kids starting and paying for college at the same time is scary, and add in the fact that the one wants to be a vet......Maybe I just need to get a job at a college that offers free family tuition benefits! I know of a couple..... :-)

Carolyn

Don't be mad about that - Ga Tech is kind of a factory for undergrads. Good chances for some individual opportunities at MD & Va Tech - if he's in the Engineering colleges - which are respectable state schools (yup, Ga Tech is higher rated, but the experience at the others is good). I'm guessing it's Penn State - since it doesn't sound like he was trying for private schools, unless maybe Lehigh or Drexel. Penn State is similar to Va Tech, and Drexel is also a good science/tech school. Plus, he can retake his SATs, and none of those schools have hard fast rules on SATs - isn't it more the combo with everything else?

Well, sorry about the funeral, and glad you got some stitching and steak!

It's blowing up a hoot here. We couldn't work outdoors - wet and wind. But, did unpack another 7 boxes. The yard sale pile grows - YEAH. And I finally found the first part of the new dishes we'd bought - of all things - the "rice bowls" ... Packed 2 boxes - 1 for each difficult SIL (who made us crazy about what was left from their parents old house - even though they'd gotten all their inheritance "stuff", and about 3 X the monetary value of the "estate" because DH was extremely generous in settling the execution of the estate, and covering any miscellany). Old linens - though I saved some nice Damask napkins that I hope will bleach white - not great stuff, but.... And one got some very inexpensive crystal wine glasses that she carried on about (if I tell you I'm sure the retail value at most would be $20 new, that would be more than generaous - more like $10), and the other some nice demi-tasse cups that the mom had collected.

So, off to more laundry after mail check.

ellice

Ellice -

Of course

And DS is a strapping young man! save him some lifting!

Oh that would be so much fun