My DD and I just had a conversation about this - her 5th grade teacher told them that being called "Miss X" or "Mrs. Y" makes some people feel older (she didn't mention what Mrs. B prefers but think it's "Mrs. B..." since that's what DD called her when she mentioned this conversation). I said "well, you're 10 yrs old, they ARE older" and she said "no, like it makes them feel really old." I told her it was a sign of respect, and that I expected her to call anyone older than she was Miss/Mrs./Mr. as appropriate, unless they asked her to call them something else. I granted that if it was a teenager, it was probably more appropriate to use the first name, but it depended on how they were introduced and what the situation was - a teenaged camp counselor introduced as "Miss X" (first or last name) should be addressed as such until they requested otherwise, but a friend of DS's we see at a meet could be addressed by his first name. I don't really like my kids calling adults by their first names, I do like them to call them "Miss Lori" (or whatever) if we are close enough to be on a first-name basis but not relatives so can't call them aunt or uncle. It's a little weird with my cousins - my uncle's boys are about the age of my kids, I'm their cousin so "Aunt" didn't seem right (though my kids call their parents aunt and uncle, since they're technically their great-aunt and uncle). They call a friend of their dad's "Uncle Bob" but they call me and DH by our first names (and my kids have fallen into the habit of calling Bob "Uncle Bob" too though we're not close). But my cousin's kids call me by my first name, and my kids call my cousins by theirs, it didn't seem right to call each other "aunt" or "uncle" and "cousin" is awkward. Though it does get confusing with multiple generations of "Mikes" - my uncle Mike is "Uncle Mike" to my kids, but my grown cousin Mike is "Mike" and my other cousin (younger than my DS) is "Michael" or "Mike N." What do you prefer kids call adult family members who aren't aunts or uncles?

Pamper yourself!! Life in your fifties is focusing on your plan . You can plan on accepting the changes or choose to make each day fun. I went to bed aged 51 and awoke feeling 100 four years ago. I was irritable, depressed, angry, sore, tired, and searching for answers. My discussions with the orthopedics , my GP and the gynecologist was nonproductive and frankly scary. The Internet offered me a better insight with why I was feeling so lousy , depressed and slipping into a negative state. Having always focused on the kids, hubby and home I decided I need to focus on myself so I wrote myself an email listing all my complaints and things I should be grateful . I found myself watching all the women at the grocery store . I seriously looked in the mirror noting what changes I could make that benefits me. The focus was placing me on the top of my to do list. Your hormones are what make your skin supple, your joints flexible , your mental state balanced and your tendons pliable. It took me a few years to realize I had entered menopause early. All the medical personnel missed the dx cause I stopped my cycles at age 45. Place the focus on what would make you feel pretty. Get your eyebrows waxed. I can no longer hold eyeglasses and trim my brows. Color your hair every six weeks. I use l'oreal every six to eight weeks religiously . Drove me crazy to hang out in the hair salon for three hours and pay a 300 tab. Do what works for you but do it. Lose weight! I found cutting out bread allowed me to drop five pounds. No I was not on a diet but just ate no wheat products. Walk and stretch daily! The lose of hormones makes your tendons brittle . Tight tendons pull on muscles which pull on bones. Several times a day I stretch my hamstrings, arms and back. Seriously takes a few minutes and I feel wonderful. Google hamstring and back exercises . Just doing a few daily will make you feel great. Change your diet. I eliminated bread and added flaxseed, unfiltered apple cider vinegar and calcium with vitamin D to my regimen. Lastly have sex! I have absolutely zero interest but I understand that my husband does. I use the romp in the bedroom as ways to get a body massage. Maybe tmi but it works. I don't tell him but I think of what I need around his needs. Put yourself first. Lose weight for your benefit. If you are ever in the north east and see a fifty? old woman returning her shopping carts and five more it is moi! I purposely park the car a distance and return carts . The extra ten minutes walking and pushing heavy carts keeps me trim and in shape. Make a plan for you . Lose three pounds and then look to do three more. Do things that make you smile. Seriously was crawled up in the fetal position until I decided I want to live and how can I make this better. Start today .

fori: it's kind of an unusual small house. Who'da thunk one wall could bork a whole YEARS WORTH OF PLANNING? taggie and taggie: Ok, see my open floor plan below. red x's are unchangeable. blue walls are exterior and unchangeable. blue diamonds are the traffic patterns through the house. ginny: yup. maybe a re-think (dear Lord please) is in order. It's almost happy hour, you want two right away or a token? Artichokey: DH didn't make an executive decision, he thought it would be good to have it more open which was originally what I wanted but at that time a year+ ago he didn't think it would work structurally,etc. He said he'd like to be able to sit at a counter somewhere so we could be together and not separated by walls. I don't necessarily want the wall. Or not want the wall. I'm trying to make the great layout that I had WITH the wall now work WITHOUT it and maybe these guys are right and I should try to go back to the drawing board. Uuhhhhh. My DH is very sweet most of the time and if I'm happy with the kitchen he'll be happy. And of course I want him happy and hey, if he wants to be able to sit by his old wife and talk to her when she's cooking, how couldn't I want to indulge that. ;) My challenges in this kitchen: 3 entries that can't change. Main entry to the house goes through the kitchen. What worked in the other layout was: having my prep/cooking space out of the traffic flow. I hate trying to cook with people under my feet. Although, to be honest, that usually only happens maybe 10 times a year at the most. I also am sick of trucking back and forth across real estate and I was liking my little 'cockpit' U area. I had a good amount of storage and space for my coveted all fridge and freezer drawers. Should I post this here or start a whole new thread? This post was edited by deedles on Sat, Feb 9, 13 at 17:15

If you can't bag the clippings, then bust out the leaf blower, rake and tarp. You will definitely want to get all the clippings outta there so maximize the amount of open soil area for the seeds settle in and grow. If you are using a slit seeder or core aerator, getting up the clippings is less important.