On the Snoqualmie debate-I watched a program on either the travel channel or the food network, can't remember which one. They were featuring a couple vacationing in what the narrator repeatedly called Snock Wall a me falls. So funny. I've never even heard it called that until the tv show. They even called the Snoqualmie Falls Lodge by that name. Too silly.

Former school lunch lady here. I have news for you guys! In the district where I worked, we offered salad every day, and for the most part, the kids passed over it. If they did take it from the salad bar, they'd glob on the ranch, and then leave most of it behind on the tray anyway. Also, if you have no idea how most school lunches are financed, you'll probably be shocked. Most of the food is provided either as commodity or low cost options by the government to the districts. So all the canned fruits and veggies, hamburgers, pizza, chicken nuggets, teriyaki nuggets, corn dogs, fries, etc are either commodity or super cheap frozen foods. Anything fresh-milk, fresh vegetables, fresh fruits are purchased by the districts, with the money that comes in from selling lunches. Cheese is also a commodity, and the districts get an allotment each year, that they can get and freeze and use, or trade away to companies that will use it, or it's equivalent value of cheese in it's products that are deemed a part of a "reimbursable school lunch" each item must have a certain number of ounces of cheese, or contain a certain number of servings of a meal. A corndog is two servings. One serving of meat or protein equivalent and a serving of bread. A slice of pizza is two servings-1 bread, 1 dairy and if it's pepperoni, 1 protein as well. A reimbursable school lunch only needs to have 3 components. So a kid could get a corndog and a milk and that is a full meal. But that same kid could get a corndog, a milk, fresh fruit and veggies, canned fruit and a fruit juice for the same price, or free or reduced. Reimbursable school lunch really just refers to what the school will be reimbursed by the government for serving that lunch, which allows the district to turn around and buy more low cost foods to serve. Either way, the kids are really who have the say, because only they are in control of what will actually go in their mouths at lunchtime.

if you are out of a job in a computer related field and trying to get unemployment, beware! Computers are classified as a growth industry, so you can be turned away from job retraining educational assistance, for that field. So you want to get a degree or certificate so that you can qualify for your old job??? Too bad. It's a growth industry. Go to what you had before they say...maybe this article can help prove a point for someone in that situation.

I would advise everyone to take a look at a program I watched in my Intro to Healthcare Class. It is called Chasing Zero. It is about medical errors and the pursuit of patient safety in healthcare settings. This is the story of Dennis Quaid's babies and how their unfortunate overdose of Heparin has led to some sweeping changes in healthcare. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSGyVwV5p7k

When I was a kid, my family lived temporarily in Nevada. Down there, they were doing something with year-round school that could potentially work other places. They separated the students across the district into quads. Each quad would go to school for about 3 months, then have a couple of weeks off. It went all year. Students in the same family were automatically in the same quad, but the kids got more instructional time, the schools could handle more students, and eveyone still got their vacations. The quads were staggered so that the schools ran year round.

Be especially careful when buying products that say Made in USA, or usa. Years ago, my dad told me that a lot of companies having merchandise manufactured in Japan would label their products that way, because there is a city in Japan called Usa. I know the article is about Chinese and Mexican sub-standard imports, but wanted you to be aware of this old scam too. Look for the proper documentation. U.S.A. with the periods, or United States, or atleast the red, white and blue sticker that says Made in USA.

Right you are! i can't believe I made that mistake! A verb is an action..duh! Thanks for the reminder. Have a great night.

I agree with you Gayle, and I'm not trying to pick on you ,but did you know you are calling this guy a flower? Yep, narcissus is a flower. Narcissistic would be a verb, discribing him. A narcissus is too nice for this creep!

I'm glad to hear that Costco will be accepting food stamps. With the unemployment situation, we've been hit pretty hard. I work, my husband is a contract worker, and we have two kids. We qualify for assistance. We are not stupid, or lazy. I am not a crackwhore, and I would never presume to label someone who gets help as some sort of social pariah. I appreciate that so many of you are well beyond financially responsible, and have all your bases covered. I'm happy that so many of you will never need the help that my family has.
I'm glad that Costco will accept my EBT card, because it will help me to stretch the dollars further. I plan ahead, I shop the sales, I know how to cook. I make meals from scratch, we eat out maybe once each month or two. I do want to thank all of you who are helping us. I am sorry that you have to, but I am grateful. We both worked for a long time and paid into the system as well. We're not having any more children and we're doing our best to get by. If you look down on us for being who we are, so be it. Remember, what goes around comes around.

If anyone here truly wants to discourage divorce, in order to preserve marriage, as sacrament, a covenant, not a contract (read christian or Catholic belief) then please see this http://www.laughyourway.com/blog/cutting-divorce-... . Mark Gungor has some great insights into how to stop No Fault divorce. My personal thought on same sex union is that it should be allowed, as a union. They (any people involved in same sex relationship) should be able to choose to love and be loved by whomever they deem worthy. The union should give all the same rights and responsibilities as a marriage, but not be called marriage, because it isn't the same, but it's close. Marriage is a covenant between one man, one woman and God. If you cannot enter into marriage 100%, with your entire being, knowing fully that it's for a lifetime, DON'T DO IT! But don't diss those who do. I'm married and loving it!