My DH just received his MAster's Degree this past weekend. I bought him a custom made frame for his Degree. The company is great to work with and the frame is gorgeous! Here is their website: http://www.usadiplomaframes.com/ Or, do you know what he'll be doing? Maybe a framed print for an office wall or something that represents something that he is interested in. When DH received his undergrad he received a beautiful clock from his Dad for his office. Just some thoughts, I hope they help! Gina

Another idea... Since the guests are folks who've know her since babyhood...when you send out the invites-include a page from a smaller sized photo album (one with 2-3 ring holes so it can be inserted by her the day of the celebration. The size of the album should have pages that will hold the photo & memory card on the 1 page. Print a'what to do' directions to include with the invite (send in a manilla envelope to fit the photo page)stating to please place a photo of her they have taken, and also include a recipe sized card for them to write down what the occasion was when the photo was taken and/or what special meaning it has for them. If they don't have any photo (from birth thru the present-perhaps you or another family member would give that person one to use. Then...(you still with me? LOL) place a ladder at the party location-place an 8x10 photo of her (Sr photo?) on the very top of the ladder with a sign under it saying : "___'s (her name) Ladder of Life". You can tie cording to each side of the ladder, with clothespins threaded on it (to hold the photo/memory cards that each guest brings. A little sign dividing the rungs of the ladder into sections (Babyhood, Toddlerhood, Elementary, High School)-guests would pin their page of the album into the section when the photo was taken, along w/their memory card. You can decorate the sides of the ladder with bows, school colors or party colors. You'd give her the empty album when she gets ready to open cards-have her read each & then place it in that section of her Memory Album. I've done this w/all 3 of my children & a couple nieces & nephews-well received by all and a treasured album for the graduate!

We have been on COBRA several times...the thing to understand is yes, it is retroactive, HOWEVER, if she should need health insurance during that time, it is useless to go to a dr. or worse, be in an accident or incur some urgent, severe medical costs and say to the admissions department, that you will need to apply for COBRA. They will treat you like you are uninsured (even though you are COBRA eligible), and you will be treated as a self-pay patient and charged the full freight cost of your medical care instead of a reduced, discounted amount health insurers pay. Have you ever received a bill from a medical lab and it says that the price of a test is $100, but for your insurance company the discounted price is $12.00 and your co-pay is $3.50? I'm making those numbers up, but it's kind of like that - you really would be shocked at the amount charged to uninsured people versus those with insurance. With COBRA, if you do not present a valid medical card, you will be charged and treated like you have no insurance. Once you apply, pay your retroactive premiums, then you will need to go back and sort through the bills -- GOOD LUCK! Most doctors, if you can't provide proof of insurance at the time of service, will make you pay up front, the full fee. I doubt you would be able to get them to reimburse you what you overpaid several months down the road. Also, it can take up to 6 weeks to apply for COBRA and then get your medical cards. My neighbor is a lawyer and worked on the origianl COBRA regulations. I had a discussion with her one day about these kinds of points and she was amazed, they had not considered how people are actually charged for and pay for medical services under the "limbo period." I've been through this, and it was a PIA big time. The concept of retroactive coverage, imho, is not a good one. Try to find some kind of continuous coverage for her.

If I find a recipe that I am not sure we are going to like, then I scribble it down on a 4" x 8" tablet. I rarely write what the food is...just the ingredients. And I usually just put the ingredients and not the amounts. Don't know why. I guess I would just put in the amounts I wanted anyway, so don't need the amounts. Funny thing is, my DS can tell what the recipe is for, just by looking at my notes. I need to write them down for my boys. I do have a 3 ring binder that I keep recipes in that I have actually typed in and printed. So, I am not all that bad about it. :) I don't cook that often from a recipe, other than the one that is in my head. I hear my grandma in me when someone asks for a recipe. "I take about a cup of this, add 2 of that..." That is how she would tell us a recipe when we asked. I would get so frustrated...and now I am that person. Fortunately, my DS can go along with it. DH? Not a chance.