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Location: Street: 1039 Summit Ave City: Oconomowoc, Province: Wisconsin Postal Code: 53066-4457 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)
Laini Taylor
Author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Includes the names: Laini Taylor, Laini Taylor-Di Bartolo
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Laini Taylor has 16 past events. (show)
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Books & Company, Wednesday, July 16 at 6:30pm
PRADAS Book Group (A Group for Adults Reading Teen Novels) Open to the Community Wednesday, July 16, 2014 6:30-7:30 p.m. Books & Company Lisa N. will lead a discussion on Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (August~If I Stay by Gayle Forman. Now a major motion picture starring Chloe Grace Moretz ) World wide, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who came from the sky. Meet Karou, who fills sketchbooks with monsters, speaks many language, and has natural bright blue hair. Who is she? That question haunts her, and she's about to find out. When one of the strangers, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love. Will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?
Location: Street: 1039 Summit Ave City: Oconomowoc, Province: Wisconsin Postal Code: 53066-4457 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)
MG Goes to Phoenix Comicon!
Mysterious Galaxy, Thursday, June 5 at 4pm
Mysterious Galaxy returns to Phoenix for early summer's hottest convention!
Booth #2532!
PHXCC website.
Mysterious Galaxy looks forward to seeing readers and an astonishing number of fabulous authors at this Southwestern celebration of popular culture and embracing one's inner and / or outer geek. Guest authors include Charlaine Harris, Christopher Golden, Jim Butcher, Greg Van Eekhout, Vicki Pettersson, Delilah S. Dawson, Heather Brewer, Scott Lynch, Elizabeth Bear, Seanan McGuire, James S.A. Corey, Jeff Mariotte, Naomi Novik, L.E. Modesitt, Jr, Django Wexler, Pierce Brown, Laini Taylor, Carrie Vaughn, and many many more. Look for Team MG in Booths 2532!! Patrick will be on-hand to make great recommendations. Check out our website for the extensive list of participating authors.
Location: Street: 100 N 3rd St Additional: Phoenix Convention Center City: Phoenix, Province: Arizona Postal Code: 85004 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)
Houston Teen Book Con 2014
Blue Willow Bookshop, Saturday, April 26 at 09:30am
Our 5th annual TeenBookCon is going to be the best yet! This nationally recognized event is a great opportunity for teens and other fans of YA literature to interact with a variety of authors and graphic novelists. The fantastic librarians and educators who make up the executive committee are working hard to make this a day you will never forget. Once you see this line-up of rock stars, you will start making your plans to attend. For a schedule of the event, visit teenbookcon.org Where: Alief Taylor High School, 7555 Howell Sugar Land Road, Houston, TX 77083 When: Saturday, April 26, 9:30 – 5:00 We will have 28 authors and graphic novelists attending the festival this year: Keynote Speaker: Lauri Halse Anderson - The Impossible Knife of Memory Closing Speaker: Matt de la Peña - The Living Authors Charles Benoit - Cold Calls Ann Brashares - The Here and Now Cecil Castellucci - Tin Star Svetlana Chmakova - Witch & Wizard: The Manga, Vol. 3 Melissa de la Cruz - The Ring and the Crown Bree Despain - Into the Dark Book #1: The Shadow Prince Elizabeth Eulberg - Better Off Friends Shannon Hale - Dangerous Jenny Han - To All The Boys I've Loved Before Rachel Hawkins - Rebel Belle April Henry - The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die Brendan Kiely - The Gospel of Winter Emery Lord - Open Road Summer Sarah Mlynowski - Don't Even Think About It Lauren Myracle - TTYL Trent Reedy - Divided we fall Jason Reynolds - When I was the Greates Eliot Schrefer - Threatened Victoria Schwab - The Unbound (An Archived Novel) Victoria Scott - Fire & Flood Tess Sharpe - Far From You Jillian Tamaki - This One Summer Mariko Tamaki - Skim Laini Taylor - Dreams of Gods & Monsters Len Vlahos - The Scar Boys John Corey Whayley - Noggin Mini Grant Contest The author who sells the most books through Blue Willow Bookshop to people who will NOT be able to attend the festival will have a mini grant named for them that will be awarded to a librarian, selected at random, who attends TeenBookCon. Get a signed copy from one of your favorite authors and help a librarian get a mini grant! Ordering If you can't attend the event and want a PERSONALIZED copy shipped to you, you may call the store or add the appropriate book to your cart on our website. Payment type must be "CreditCard." To place an international order, please email email@example.com to obtain shipping details and to have items shipped to you. Staff will respond within 24-48 hours. In order to ensure fulfillment the deadline for web orders is 5:00 p.m. Thursday April 24.
Location: Street: Alief Taylor High School Additional: 7555 Howell Sugar Land Road City: Houston, Province: Texas Postal Code: 77083 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)
LAINI TAYLOR at the Alameda Free Library!
Books Inc. in Alameda, Tuesday, April 15 at 7pm
Books Inc. and the Alameda Free Library are honored to welcome National Book Award Finalist, and New York Times and USA Today-bestselling author Laini Taylor sharing the thrilling conclusion to the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, Dreams of Gods & Monsters. From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera, and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.
Location: Alameda Free Library Street: 1550 Oak Street City: Alameda, Province: California Postal Code: 94501-2932 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)
Kepler's Books, Monday, April 14 at 7pm
YA Event: Laini Taylor
Monday, April 14, 7:00 p.m.
Dreams of Gods and Monsters
We are so very excited to welcome National Book Award Finalist, and New York Times and USA Today-bestselling author Laini Taylor who will be sharing the thrilling conclusion to the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, Dreams of Gods & Monsters.
Karou is still not ready to forgive Akiva for killing the only family she's ever known. But when a brutal angel army trespasses into the human world, Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat--and against larger dangers that loom on the horizon. They begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people - and, perhaps, for themselves.
There will be prizes, photo opps (with props!), and a mini gallery of fan art. Come join the party!
Location: Street: 1010 El Camino Real City: Menlo Park, Province: California Postal Code: 94025-4349 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books 2014
Mysterious Galaxy, Saturday, April 12 at 10am
Laini Taylor Lisa Scottoline Melissa de la Cruz Peter James Darrell James Olivia Samms Rachel Searles Margaret Stohl Michael Johnston Ridley Pearson On Saturday, April 12, and Sunday, April 13, Mysterious Galaxy will be hosting dozens of authors in our booth on the grounds of USC University Park Campus as part of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Mysterious Galaxy's booth location is Booth #368. Mystery fans will be particularly pleased to note that we are adjacent to the Southern CA Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime booths. For more information about the Festival and directions, etc. visit the official web site. Authors scheduled to appear in our booth include: Stuart Woods, Scott O'Connor, Scott Eyman, Samuel Gailey, Connie Archer, Kem Nunn, and many more! Our current signing schedule can be found at the bottom of this page ... all information subject to change. Attachment Size Signing Schedule for LATFB 2014.pdf 506.49 KB
Location: Street: University of Southern California Additional: Exposition Boulevard / Figueroa Boulevard City: Los Angeles, Province: California Postal Code: 90089 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)
High School Book Group (grades 9 - 12)
Charleston County Public Library - Main Library, Friday, November 30, 2012 at 4:30pm
Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor (MDGentleReader)
Laini TaylorMeet Laini Taylor, Author of Days of Blood and Starlight
Barnes & Noble Booksellers - Clackamas Town Center Mall, Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at 6:30pm
Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor
Author Event Join us to welcome young adult author and National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor to our store for a reading and signing event presenting her new book, Days of Blood and Starlight, the sequel to Daughter of Smoke and Bone. We hope to see you! (added from Barnes & Noble)
Teen Event | Laini Taylor | Days of Blood & Starlight
Changing Hands Bookstore, Friday, November 9, 2012 at 7pm
7PM FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9 Teen Event | Laini Taylor: Days of Blood & Starlight National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor visits with Days of Blood & Starlight, the sequel to her bestselling teen fantasy novel Daughter of Smoke and Bone, a New York Times Notable Children's Book.
Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it. Now Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people while she and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight. Can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of a broken dream?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Laini Taylor is the author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone, which was a New York Times Notable Book of 2011, Publisher's Weekly Best Book of 2011, Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book of 2011 finalist, and Andre Norton Award finalist. She is also the author of Lips touch Three Times, a National Book Award finalist, Junior Library Guild Selection, and NPR Best Young Adult Fiction pick for 2009. Taylor lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, illustrator Jim Di Bartolo, and their daughter Clementine. More »
Location: Street: 6428 S McClintock Dr. City: Tempe, Province: Arizona Postal Code: 85283 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)
LAINI TAYLOR - Days of Blood and Starlight
BookPeople, Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 7pm
Bestselling Author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone Laini Taylor speaking & signing Days of Blood and Starlight
In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Karou must come to terms with who and what she is, and how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, mysteries and secrets, new characters and old favorites, Days of Blood and Starlight brings the richness, color and intensity of the first book to a brand new canvas.
Laini Taylor is the author of four previous novels: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, the Dreamdark books Blackbringer and Silksinger, and the National Book Award finalist, Lips Touch: Three Times.
In order to have anything signed at a BookPeople event, a copy of the event book must be purchased from BookPeople. If you purchase your book from BookPeople in advance of the event, please save your receipt and present it at the event.
Thank you for supporting Laini Taylor and your local independent bookstore!
Location: Street: 603 N Lamar Blvd City: Austin, Province: Texas Postal Code: 78703-5413 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)
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Trailside Birch Products is a business straight out of the woods
Approximately 20 years ago James Steffen and his wife, Lorraine, were making pine bough wreaths for the holiday season, just as they had for years. Then Jim felt inspired by the bright white bark of the paper birch trunks and the glossy brown, almost black color of their twigs.
"It's a very beautiful wood," he said.
Are you a newspaper subscriber but you don't have a Digital Access account yet? https://secure.forumcomm.com/?publisher_ID=40&event=subscriber/lookup.
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- Exhibitions
- Collection
- Public Programs
- Education
- The Potter
- Support Us
Visit us and explore four great exhibitions:
The Basil Sellers Art Prize 4
Australian abstraction
Visions of colonial Victoria
Highlights from the archaeological collection of Heritage Victoria
Free admission, all welcome!
Saturday 20 September l Dr Arthur O'Neill leads a dynamic group discussion through the BSAP4 exhibition deliberating and debating the world of sport and art.
Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday 12 noon to 5pm, Monday closed.


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Putting A Kids' Table In The Middle Of The Room
We come across an example of it every once in a while - a playroom or bedroom with a table placed in the center. Usually we see tables and chairs set against a wall or in a corner, most likely to save space.
But we do like seeing the table smack in the middle of the room. Its placement sort of beckons you to come and draw, work on a puzzle, read a book, or have a tea party. I like it so much it's convinced to me to move our little table and chairs towards the center of the playroom as well. By the way, if you want to see more photos of this airy house, check out Interior Photos.
Anyone do this already?
(Image: Interior Photos)
6 Comments
I've been considering this. I like it.
I'm planning to do this in our nursery. Especially with the centerpiece of the room that hangs down low and threatens to entrap anyone who walks that way without paying attention..
I think this looks fantastic!! Love the whole room!
Love it!
We've always had our daughters' table and chairs in the middle of the floor of their playroom...first in a smaller playroom because there was no wall space!...and now in the larger playroom because we liked it so much before and it fills the "hole" in the middle of the larger space.
We have a table in the middle of our boys' room (four of them share) - it's brilliant, in the shape of a star and everyone works on their project on a point!!! It takes up play space on the floor but to be honest they would rather do lego's and stuff at the table than on the floor and isn't life about LEGO!!!
We just did this in our playroom so that the table would be on our soft rug. Jax hasn't quite gotten the hang of getting into chairs on his own, so we didn't want them to slide.
We still need to take pictures of the whole room with the new handmade chalkboard, but here is the table:


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|Meningitis: Viral and Bacterial
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The cottage is normally closed during the months of November, December, January,February and March.
We require a non refundable deposit of £40 to secure a booking and the full balance (less deposit)to be paid 6 weeks before the holiday commences.Please make cheques payable to M.Rayers.
Weekly lettings are Saturday to Saturday, entry is from 1pm on day of arrival and the cottage to be vacated by 10-00 am on day of departure.
We provide a duvet and cover, a matching pair of pillowcases,and an electric blanket for each bed plus one tea towel. If you do not wish to hire linen, it will be necessary to bring one under sheet for each bed you wish to use plus extra pillowcases if you wish to use more than one pillow each!


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Do Your Friends or SO's Know of Your Chowhound Obsession?
- michele cindy Sep 9, 2008 05:31 AM
This might seem a bit strange but, I was just thinking that if one day anything ever happened to me, and I was no longer able to post, due to death or serious injury, no one I know would ever really know about my "alter Chowhound ego". My husband might know of my CH interest, but I don't think he knows that is a borderline personal obsession of mine. I don't talk with my friends about CH either. I may send them a lead on a cool place to eat, or a great recipe that I read about here, but they also don't know my tag name, what I post etc. I've been keeping this "secret past time" for years... Anyone else there in a similar situation?
re: Janet from Richmond
What is a Dh? Thank you.
re: FrankieSandals
"Dear hubby"....
re: FrankieSandals
this might be helpful to you. There's a ton of other sites out there to regarding this type of abbrieviation.
I don't think that I would have that problem. My SO knows about my obsession and because I use the same "name" for most of my online stuff he would recognize my tag (I also have the page bookmarked and always logged in). I talk about Chowhound so much that my mother has started using it to research restaurant recommendations in the DC/NoVa area and recipes. She has stumbled across my posts and will call me about them. And my roommate knows that I use the computer to search for bars and restaurants, but I don't think he knows that it's Chowhound (and a little bit of yelp).
I've mentioned it to a few of my foodie friends and they think I have nothing better to do while I'm at work. It's a great way to pass time while I'm being held captive by our "help" line. I found Chowhound on accident when I googled a sushi place here in Mpls/St. Paul and was routed to a Chowhound review. I've been hooked ever since!
I don't keep it a secret at all. My husband recognizes a few of the names of some posters I quote often, either funny, knowledgeable, etc. At first, when I'd say something like, "Well, goodhealthgourmet said to do this and I trust her judgement..." or "MMRuth made this duck dish that looked so good I have to try it" (or whatever the poster name was that wasn't a real name), my husband would look twice at me. Who???
re: chowser
I do the exact same thing with my husband ... both about cooking and restaurants. I guess he's used to it by now!
re: chowser
aww, chowser, i'm beyond flattered that i'd ever make it into your household conversation...and that you trust my judgement ;)
my family knows about my CH obsession - i'm always mentioning things i've read here and "conversations" that occur on the boards. every time someone i know talks about wanting to try a restaurant based on a recommendation from a third party - be it a friend, a newspaper review, a Zagat review, or anywhere/anyone else - i always tell them not to do anything until i check it out here. i trust you guys more than other sources.
my family used to think i was silly/weird/nuts for being so into it, but now whenever my mom has a question about anything food-related - cookware, appliances, restaurants, cooking techniques - shes asks me for the CH answer :)
now, having said all that, do i think they *understand* or appreciate the true nature of my obsession? absolutely not. if i started mentioning you guys by name in conversation the way chowser does, they'd send for the men in white coats to wrap me up in one of those armless jackets. but i like it this way. CH is a community, and i love that it's completely separate from other areas of my life. it's one of the only things i do for myself that's all about me and what makes me happy. some people decompress by watching mindless TV shows or reading romance novels, i come here to check out the latest posts.
i'm thankful that none of my family members will ever be here trolling the boards themselves, because if they saw some of the things i've revealed about them they'd be piiiissed!
Most of my family & friends already think I'm a food freak....they can't understand why I go to the farmer's market, insist on Lucatelli cheese, won't eat at chain restaurants (unless forced), seek out the best bbq & tacqueria's in the Triangle region. They can't imagine what I do with all those saved copies of Bon Appetit and Gourmet magazines, no clue as to why I would ever have more than one cookbook, don't understand why anyone would ever have more than one 12" skillet or why on earth I find it necessary to have 4 different chef's knives and heaven forbid if they actually came across my paring knife collection.
I actually tried to have a conversation the other day about the merits of California garlic versus the Chinese variety...I may as well have been speaking Chinese based on the looks I received.
With that being said, they don't mind all of these obsessions when I'm hosting a dinner party or taking food for one of their parties but, if they ever found out about my alter ego on CH I'm pretty sure they would have me committed!
Why of course, as CH and food obsession is such a big part of my life. ; )
All of my Boston Hound friends know my husband, and most of them have met my best girlfriends. Over the years, we've become very close and enjoy getting together for meals or cocktails, and throwing dinner parties at our homes.
When I first would go out to meet the local CHs in Boston years ago, E and my friends thought it was totally strange for me to dine with people I only knew from the Internet. "What could you have in common?". Umm...food! He thought I was out of my mind when I convinced him we were driving to Manhattan for the Chowhound Social potluck in 2002. What a fun time meeting so many of the Hounds from the NY board.
Now of course, he's used to this. In fact, last night E and I were at a local AZ CH's house for dinner and discussing this. We moved to AZ a few months ago, and when I announced one night that we were going out to dinner with a Phoenix CH and her husband, he didn't blink an eye. Of course, ArizonaGirl and her husband turned out to be great people (and excellent cooks!) so, once again, through Chowhound, we've met wonderful new friends who, coincidentally, live just a few minutes from us. A few months ago I mentioned that KatieNell ("you know, from the Home Cooking board") was coming into Phoenix for a business trip and we were going to meet her for dinner. "Okay, what time?" is his now standard response.
My friends always thought I was a food freak anyway, and think of Chowhound as just an extension of this. By now everyone around me is used to the wealth of information I try to pass on from this site. Great recipes, tips on restaurants, learning authentic ethnic dishes, and how to pronounce words from foreign menus are just some of the things I love about Chowhound. Ha - family come over and ask, "So, what's the cookbook of the month this time?", or "what do your CH friends think of that restaurant?". My brother is a great cook and loves food, so I send him links he'll be interested in, and my mom is currently enjoying following along with the Home Cooking board's Vietnamese COTM.
Of course, the best thing out of CH is the friendships I've made. We took a trip to Boston a few weeks ago, and it was a priority for me to be able to meet up with my CH friends. I was grateful that so many took the time out of their busy schedules to join us for dinner, lunch, or cocktails - YumYum, Beetlebug, Niblet, 9Lives, Alcachofa and Amy, HeatherMB, Gini, Onefineleo, and Mirage. It was really heartwarming to see my friends again, and amazing that we all met through this internet site, over our love of food.
My SO always comments that if it's totally quiet in the house and I'm nowhere to be found, I'm always in the den reading Chowhound. While I'm not as avid a poster as most, I'm an extreme lurker and have spent hours reading the various topics with great delight. For me, Chowhound replaced the late, lamented Fametracker forums, where I could also be found lurking at 3 a.m. reading thread after thread. I can't count the number of times when mentioning a restaurant or a cooking technique etc. where I've started off with "well the prevailing Chowhounder attitude about this is..."
My husband knows of my Chowhound obsession. Sometimes he thinks I'm crazy, but he also knows that wherever we go, he will reap the benefits of my insanity and have good food. And now his friends sometimes ask him for restaurant recommendations, which makes him proud! It's especially funny because when I met him 8+ years ago, for dinner 5 nights a week he ate spaghetti with "parmesan" cheese from the green can. He never thought of buying fresh cheese.
My family (sister, parents) know of my obession but I don't think they know just how much time I spent reading, eating, thinking about food. My father doesn't use a computer so he has no clue. A few months ago I needed a gift certificate for my parents for a restaurant in Florida (they live there, I live in NY). I turned to CH and came up with a place that sounded really good in Boca Raton. My father was like "How on earth did you ever hear of this place? We live here and never heard of it". They went, they loved it. Once again, thanks to Chowhounds.
Most of my friends know that I love to cook and entertain, but again, they don't know how much thought I give to all things food. Honestly, I don't want too many people from my intimate circle on CH...I feel like it's my personal space and I don't want them to invade it!
my SO makes fun of me for it all the time - when a weeds episode mentioned CH a few weeks ago, he almost spit out his drink he was so excited. he really encourages the habit - weeks before any of our vacations he asks me what my "food friends" say about our vacation spots, before i buy a cookbook or cooking gear he wants to know what you all think about it, and whenever i find a new place in our town, he brags to our friends that it's from my food forum. like smorgasbord said, he can always tell when i'm on CH b/c i'm quiet and calm - we're both writing our dissertations, so the rest of the time when i'm on the computer i'm completely stressed out!
NO, no one knows of my Chow secret. When I first discovered the site, I talked about it to all my friends and family but quickly realized it was better to keep it my secret and to keep my identity as anonymous as possible. Exactly why I can't tell you right now -- I've had a couple of glasses of wine and about to eat dinner, but as obsessed as I am, I feel better keeping this to myself while being able to provide fabulous recommendations and opiniated opinions to all and near -- thanks to chowhound.
re: JamieK
I do not post as often or nearly as well as JamieK and have so far managed to keep my obsession hidden. Unfortunately my cardiologist will soon be interrogating me about the 5 lbs. I have gained this summer soley on account of Chowhound and depending on the intensity of the inquisition I may confess!
With the complicity of Hounds in Toronto and the Tri-state region I have dined happily but over much.
re: garlicandwingnut
I've been posting frequently for 9 years, and have managed to not talk about it with others. I'm in the "Chowhound closet". I've only "come out" to a handful of folks. Since I post mostly at work, it's pretty easy to do. It's like having a really good dessert, and not wanting to share it with anyone, but you are ok with giving a small piece away once in awhile.
Oh my friends and family know alright! Could it be that I start a lot of sentences with "Well I was on chowhound the other day and.." ? I got my friend John to post, and it was awesome because I would give a review and then he would respond to my review with his own seeing as how we had shared the same meal. It felt a little like some of the reviews by mitch where he mentions his LDC (lovely dining companion) but then you get to actually hear what the LDC has to say too. Not sure John would like being referred to as such. When John doesn't post for awhile I tell him I wrote about him again and then he logs on to see what I said about him. Such fun. But John works at a bookstore and has begun telling his customers about this site. I feel grateful to have this site and I like the chowhounds I share it with a lot so I want to tell as many people as possible. Now to call John and tell him I mentioned him again. He he!
Oh yes, my family and friends are PAINFULLY aware of my CH obsession. So much so that many know the screen names of many of you. My 9 yr old daughter has a "Club Penguin" penguin named "Chowhound".
Oh yea, if I were to die tomorrow, they would undoubtedly talk about my great fervor for CH at my funeral.
re: lynnlato
And meanwhile I'm such a wimp that I cringe at the idea of my foodie friends (and I have many) finding out my real identity. Sometimes I'm having a glass of wine with someone and we're talking about food and I want to blurt something out to them but I'm afraid it would give me away. One of my friends owns a restaurant in town and I think he must read CH quite a bit. I never post about his restaurant but I'm always tempted to tell him when I see someone else write about it. I've literally stopped myself mid-sentence when I think I'm going to say something revealing. Regarding my dear friend Lynnlato here, I linked over to her blog (which I LOVE) and know I could easily get in touch with her but I'm chicken shit! We're practically neighbors here in Charlotte and nothing would give me greater pleasure than to meet her and GodfatherofLunch for lunch one day but I can't bring myself to do it!
re: southernitalian
I am duly impressed that you have such self-restraint. I, on the other hand, am a total blabber-mouth!
As for lunch, I think it would be so much fun! It's certainly well overdue. If they can do it in nyc we can do it here in cha-lot. Email me. :-)
re: southernitalian
Shocker I know but GFL has a big mouth and tells anyone who will listen about CH his blog and anything else regarding food. Mrs G. does an amazing job of acting interested, what a doll. If you and La Lato will have me lunch sounds like a blast. Just the thought of us selecting a place is already making me laugh.
re: GodfatherofLunch
I will certainly try to work up the nerve. But if people ask how we know each other and we say, "We met online", how pathetic do we look?
re: southernitalian
Meeting online is incredibly common these days. I don't think you should feel any shame about that. I have some wonderful, dear friends that I met through online forums.
re: southernitalian
You just say "we met through our common love of food" and leave it at that!
re: southernitalian
southernitalian - I have many friends around the country that I've met "from online". Our standing joke is to always wonder before you meet whether or not they're an axe murderer - and wonder of wonders, they never are! ;-)
Saying you met from your love of food on a message board isn't so strange anymore. I think you might be surprised how many of your own friends might have met others from online message boards!
Having said all of that - I *still* haven't been to a Boston Chowdown. :-) Those folks know WAY more about food than I do - so I do understand the intimidation factor in that sense.
re: LindaWhit
I've been to many chowdowns--I really encourage you to go to one. You will be amazed by how even more interesting and passionate people are when you meet them in person. Sometimes even the quietest, most infrequent poster turns out to be the most incredibly amazing. I always find the first 10 minutes or so to be a bit awkward as in, "I can't believe I'm actually doing this..." but once everyone relaxes a bit, and yes, starts talking about food, it's really delightful. And you've never been in a group of people like this, where the discussion is 100% about food--what you're eating now, places you've been, places you want to try...
re: The Dairy Queen
TDQ-- do you remember (here in MSP--minneapolis/st paul) when the bridge fell down last year?
and you started that "roll call" thread about everyone's comfort meal the day of/day after, when we were all trying to figure out which of our friends & neighbors may have died or been hurt in the tragedy? one by one, we all weighed in (i clearly remember that my response was los ocampos burritos, and remember the meal, and how dh & i felt, too), and it was such a relief to see that all the hounds were okay. i was so anxious that for a couple of days i just kept refreshing my computer to see who had responded to the thread, even though i've never even properly met any of you (that i know of). shit, i'm getting a little teary eyed just thinking about it, & i just tried to find the thread, and couldn't--stupid search function.
anyway, i will never forget that thread, and it made me realize how much the little crew of msp hounds meant to me. i know i would have been heartbroken to have learned that anyone had been killed in that accident. i remember being especially anxious because it happened right at/before dinner time, because i feared that some folks would have been taking the bridge on their way to 6:30/7pm reservations downtown. most of my friends were safe for sure (working in restaurant kitchens), but we narrowly missed losing some culinary talent in our town as well, i learned later!
as to the op, if anything happened to me, eventually dh would log into chowhound and let everyone know. he used to think chowhound was a giant joke, but he takes it very seriously these days.
re: soupkitten
Hi SK--I'm very sorry that I didn't see this post until just now (better late than never, I guess). I do recall that comfort food thread. I'm glad it gave you some relief during a very stressful time. I did debate at the time whether the thread seemed too frivolous, given the severity of the situation, while we were all waiting to hear if everyone we knew was okay, but I went ahead with it anyway.
It made me feel better, like, there was something I could do other than just wait... At least I could find out if my fellow chowhounds were okay and, yes, I even ended up using some of the comfort food ideas that came out of that thread. It was definitely a time to show your loved ones how much you care for them, and nurturing them with food is a natural way to do that.
I did not know there was a culinary close call re: the bridge collapse, but I'm glad it worked out. I learned of a lot of close calls among my friends, family and acquaintances and, sadly, one that turned out to be a real tragedy (as all of the losses that day were.)
re: southernitalian
So fast forward less than a month and Lynnlato and I are friends. Still haven't met but we communicate online. I was having a glass of wine with my husband the other night and he says, "You got an email from that woman you met on that food site. She seems nice." I almost fell out of my chair that he not only knew about CH, but just about everything else I do online! he seemed surprised that I assumed he never noticed the enormous "CHOWHOUND" banner on the screen every time he comes into my office.
My SO knows, of course. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain why we have to photograph all our meals before we can eat and the expanding pile (yes, it's a pile now because I've run out of shelf space, in spite of having bought a bookshelf for my cookbooks about 6 months ago) of cookbooks on our spareroom floor. And, although he's incredibly patient and tolerant and supportive of my chowhounding, there's a running negotiation at our house about where we will go out to dinner. We have a couple of old standby places we go out to eat together that I know I can always get him to agree to, but if I want to visit some little mom and pop ethnic place, it's always a negotiation. If we've had Thai food recently (in the past week or so), then it's going to be hard to convince him to go out for Ethiopian...
Occasionally HE will suggest we go out to eat at one these places and that's how I know he's trying to cheer me up after a bad day at work or that he's trying to butter me up for some reason or just being very sweet. We even have a restaurant, Ngon Bistro, that has almost become a joke between us because I suggest it so often... So, often, when we start the "Where shall we eat" negotiation, he'll let me know coming out of the gate that Ngon Bistro is off the table, so to speak.
We'll even get to a point in our vacation planning, where we've narrowed in on a location, and he'll say, "Okay, you can make your Chowhound post now...", meaning we're locked into this location and so I can go ahead and do research and ask for recommendations without fear of wasting people's time. And he most certainly knows all of the Chowhound personalities, has attended a couple of chowdowns, and even has a handle (though he probably has fewer than 20 posts.) He reads the Midwest board once a week or so to stay abreast of what's going on. And, we do talk about "that place" AnneInMpls or soupkitten or MSPD or KTFoley or Jordan or foureyes or diesel or whomever mentioned. The astonishing thing lately is that I'm realizing he's reading some of the other Chowhound boards, too, because he'll mention a post on another board I haven't seen. Apparently, he's a big fan of the chains board.
He also knows that I have some kind of inherent NEED to eat somewhere interesting on a regular basis. He knows if I eat a steady diet of meat and potatoes for too long, I'll explode or something. Or die of boredom. I really need some spice, literally, in my life, on some kind of regular basis.
On the other hand, no one else knows. When we go out to eat with my SO's extended family, they don't even ask my opinion about where we should eat! (Which frosts me by the way, but that's a subject for another day.) With that crowd, we often end up at places that make me want to cry. I think, oh wow, we ended up at X when there's Y two doors down that is a Board favorite that I've been dying to try that I'm convinced everyone would have loved just as much. There's one family member who's started to notice that I always steer them towards really good restaurants, but she's never asked why or how I know.
I work close to some of the best Chowhounding in the Twin Cities (well, there's a lot of great Chowhounding here, but this particular area and my commute to it is especially rich), and I can't convince my co-workers to go out for lunch with me to any place other than chains. So, I have to do my lunch-time Chowhounding alone... They have slowly figured out that if they all want to go out to lunch, and the place they've decided on is a chain, I will always reply "No thanks, I brought my lunch." But, if they want to go to lunch and they suggest a neat little indie place, especially one I've never eaten at, even if I'm in the middle of eating the lunch I brought from home, I'll go.
Among my broader circle of friends and family, people who have known me for years, I'm known for being a very adventurous eater and that's become a bit of a running joke with a few people who like to recount various stories about certain things I've eaten that no one else would try, that sort of thing, but I don't think anyone would ever think of me as a "foodie" or anything like that, mostly because when it comes time to choose a place to eat out at, I'll suggest a few places, but I always just go along with the group consensus, even if it's a chain. So, I guess I'm known as an adventurous eater, but not an especially picky eater...
Friends and family do know of my CH obsession, and some know my handle, as it's just a shortened version of my name. My mother has a sorority "lunch bunch" she goes out with once a month, and she'll call me and tell me "we're going to this restaurant - what do you know about it and what could I order?" (she has plain tastes for the most part) Sister calls on a regular basis saying she's meeting friends and "what's good between Sharon and Westwood (MA)? But oh - one person *only* eats plain chicken, so if you could recommend something that has a roast chicken dish, that would be best."
Friends know I post here and will often look to see what I've posted if there's a group of us that head out for a dinner.
Coworkers know I love food, and one asked me for suggestions when he was going on a date with a new potential - I referred him to threads here and he gave me reviews on the places that she and he went to. He also asked if I had heard of such-and-such restaurant (that I hadn't referred him to) "on that food board you like - we went there and had a great meal!" Sure enough, there are always reviews here. Several other coworkers have now also now started looking here themselves for info on places they've just learned about.
I post on an AOL message board that is mostly people talking about what they're cooking for dinner, but also where they're going for dinner. I "introduced" the board to CH, I believe, and more and more, I'm seeing some say "I went to the Boston CH board as we were unfamiliar with seafood restaurants in town, and got some recommendations - and we went to Eastern Standard for dinner that night!" or "I checked out the Manhattan CH and got some great recommendations for the small party."
Now if I die, will my family or friends post here saying "no more from LindaWhit"??? I doubt it. ;-)
re: lynnlato
Holy androgyne Batman. c' mon stop confusing me. He is not a broad, she is a broad. Why does he get to be in Hong Kong and she is stuck in Jersey? Oh well at least she gets better pizza.
re: Miss Needle
Oh I am finding this too funny! I had no idea you folks were confused. I suppose your observations clear up a few things for me too.
re: chowser
too funny chowser! Nah, our friends have their own s/n's and take full credit for bringing J.. then me.. to CH.
DH knows. In fact, if I suggest a restaurant to go to, he'll say, "Well, what does CHOWHOUND say about it? Did you get that suggestion from CHOWHOUND?" And if we're planning a trip, he says, "Are you going to consult CHOWHOUND?" Personally, I think he's a little bit jealous. : )
My sister knows too -- in fact, she used to post here sporadically but stopped. She was more of a lurker than anything. And one of my friends figured me out one day by telling me, "Oh, I know all about your secret OTHER life."
After reading some stuff written by some posters complaining about their bosses, dinner guests, etc., I think it's a wise move to keep your Chowhound obsession hidden.
re: Miss Needle
"After reading some stuff written by some posters complaining about their bosses, dinner guests, etc., I think it's a wise move to keep your Chowhound obsession hidden."
I admit to having on occasion written things about my MIL. I know that my husband doesn't go on CH (he lives it through me), but I always think that I'd be busted if he did! Especially since my real name is, well, valerie.
re: valerie
Yeah. My "Will he die?", post might not be such a big hit with my boss' brother. But I'm willing to put my head on a block and swear he doesn't read this site. Thankfully my rant on my sister-in-law's lack of parenting skills was so horrific and off topic it was pulled. Still, I do worry about being outed.
re: valerie
Because I pretty much use my real name (Ruth is not my first name, assumptions to the contrary - recall Babe Ruth), I find that I control my inner bitching, which I'm sure is a good thing. I have had friends realize that *I* am MMRuth, so I'm careful what I post about, particularly on NAF. And I never make a reservation in my own name.
Great topic, yes hubby and everyone I come in contact with knows my obsession. Hubby tells people he's a Chowhound Widow!!! I love telling people about chowhound, I'm a walking natural salesman. Many people get that glazed over look in their eyes when I start talking about food, restaurants, etc. and I love it when I find another foodie and we just go at it. My sister just went on recently and found some of my posts, sent me an email "hey, I didn't know you didn't like Hart's". I do need to ween myself off a little - it does interfere with other things I'm trying to get done but I love it. This obsession and this site in particular is extremely helpful to those of us who can't stand wasting time and money on lousy food.
Absolutely. My DH knows all about it because he is about seven feet away from me laying on the couch as I post away. I also preface alot of sentences with "Well, I read on Chowhound..." At work, my Chowhounding and ADHD is so well known that if I'm on the computer and actually focused on task, my co-workers will laughingly ask me "Are you Chowhounding again?"
I guess Chowhound is my Ritalin LOL.
My Fam of origin wouldn't be the slightest bit interested in this site. Hubs, AKA Furry will often ask "Did you get that off CH"... and knows some people here by their handle... as I talk about you.
And we've been luck enough to meet people from here in real life, so he can put a face to a screen name.
As for the outing myself, I don't give a fiddler's cuss... I am purple goddess on every board I visit, it would be quite easy to find out me "real name" and who I am, and should I meet my demise, I am sure that you guys would find out via my online friends, both here and other places I am known
No, my husband has an idea I like this site but he would tease me relentlessly if he just how much I am on it.
However, he is nuts for beeradvocate.com and is always posting beer reviews. He is at the point where he cannot try a new beer without a pen and paper in hand. He just might have a bigger addiction than I have!
DH knows, and just like valerie's, benefits whenever we're on vacation or simply looking to try someplace new. He does tease me a little bit about it, though.
I do talk about Chowhound at work etc. and have actually turned some others into Ch'ers but I donlt really tell anybody my screen name. And like others, my DH knows that I consult Chow for any unknown resto and since we share a computer, he was kind enough to save the Chow to the desktop (along with Pioneer woman) along with the rest of his stuff. Even though I have never met any other Chowhounds, I do feel like I know many of you like family and friends. But on my tiny island, there is not much chowing going on. I do miss the big city....<sigh>.
My closer friends know, and tease me about it. Funny thing is, when they are trying to figure out where to go for dinner, they frequently call me to ask for ideas or what I know about a specific place or where to buy some odd ingredient.
Here's another twist on the topic....Do your Chowhound buddies (online) know who YOU really are? I walked into a chowhound dinner, spotted an old workmate (from thirty years ago!) and after chatting, asked - So what's your screen name? I almost fell off my chair laughing when she told me - I had NO idea that Allstonian was (in Real Life) my old friend!
re: fredid
And another, sort of the reverse - virtually none of the people - who seem at least to share an interest in food - I have ever mentioned it to have any idea what the heck Chowhound is. I can think of only one person, who said "oh yeah, isn't that that Jim Leff thing?" but had never checked it out. Benighted.
My wife knows...and thinks I'm nuts...but has always been thankful when dining someplace we probably would not have found if I wasn't obsessed!
It's not a secret for me, I've directed family and friends to several great restaurants through this site. But none of them have the patience to use it themselves, they expect it to be like some kind of google where you can do a search and a magic list pops up of the best places.
I don't avoid talking about my participation here. When a conversation takes a turn that makes something here relevant, I share it. But I don't think I've ever said to anyone "Hey, I'm Caroline1," much less had anyone ask.
I think it's normal to wonder if you'd know what happened to anyone who dropped out of an "electronic social group." Or if friends who now live a long distance away and you keep contact with by email would have any way of knowing your bucket list ran out.
I once had an actor/writer friend die very unexpectedly while on a year's sabatical in Italy. The villagers sent his things back to his mother in L.A., whom he had just settled into an assisted living facilty before he went off on his adventure. His notebook computer was among his belongings, and one of the people on the AL staff went through it for his mom, and sent emails to everyone he ever wrote to. I thought that was brilliant! Turned out he had lapsed into a coma a few minutes after we talked on the phone, then died a couple of days later on Christmas Eve.
Many many people are grateful that the Assisted Living helper had the presence of mind to go through his email files! Don't know if my kids would think of doing that, but if they did... Hey, does everyone here have emails from the Chow Team in your files? Keep at least one just in case! LOL! Sorry, Chow Team. '-)
Yes, my husband knows..but doesn't really understand. We discuss some of the topics at the dinner table, and I've received more "good" restaurant recommendations than I can count, so he shouldn't complain. He knows that I'm on here virtually all day because of my lack of work at work (don't tell my boss he's not giving me enough to do! Crap he's probably one of you!) but he still doesn't get it. He doesn't understand that new topics come up, new answers are given and of course there's always something to read. He complains about my obsession, but he allows it because it's better than my old obsession with "The Knot" when we were planning our wedding!!!
I make no secret of it, and my family and friends have been happily guided to many a fine meal thanks to the board. My wife doesn't have the patience to browse it herself (she's much too busy hanging out on sites that sell shoes), but sometimes I'll CC her a particularly interesting posting.
The other day I received an email from someone about bands playing totally non food related. I'm on his mailing list. There's someone who posts on CH and their name was similar to the guy that sends out the band email. I asked him if he ever posts on CH, sure enough, it was the same guy who sends me the band stuff.
In a word, YES. My poor, long-suffering wife, knows it all. She sits, as I get copies of the menus and the wine lists. She gets grilled about each and every dish that we eat. She gets nailed with, "oh, I see that you guys dined at XXXX last weekend. I saw your hubby's post on CH, or fill-in the blank."
Were I gone tomorrow, she'd probably be able to dine around the globe and not find her meal on the Web within a week. Maybe she'd be happier.
re: Bill Hunt
I'm sure my husband would be thrilled if I didn't take photos of every dish before we sit down to dinner. On the other hand, we've eaten lots of delicious things at home - and in restaurants - that we wouldn't have were it not for Chowhound.
re: Bill Hunt
As this thread has some activity, since I last saw it, I have to update my response just a bit.
Not sure what this means, or what I should infer from it, but over the last two months, I've been to about a half-dozen events. At several of these, when I was introduced to a stranger, they immediately asked, "are you the Bill Hunt on Chowhound?" What the heck! I was meeting folk from all walks of life and every social status at these events. There were CH's everywhere. Some were just readers, but some were posters. Unfortunately, I did not recognize any of the screen names, as 'Hounds, that I knew from discussions, even on the SW (AZ, CO, NV, etc.) board, but they obviously were doing their reading.
My wife, who is usually recognized long before I am, was in awe. I'm not used to that either.
Obviously, unless I have major plastic surgery and enter a CH witness protection program, I could never be an anonymous restaurant critic.
This tells me that CH's are everywhere.
re: Bill Hunt
hey, that's rad, Bill. soak it up, you're a star! :)
re: soupkitten
I *think* that I can handle it, so long as the paparazzi keeps their distance... [Grin]
Actually, it was quite charming and totally unexpected. Just glad that there were no restauranteurs in any of these group.
just about everyone i know well knows about my chowhound "issues" -- even some people i chat with at the grocery store check-out. lol!
mr. alka: "aw, is that "chowhound"? again!??! "chow" this and "chow" that!
moi: mmm
mr. alka: how can you spend so much time on there?
moi: hey! where do you think i get a lot of ideas? and what about YOUR financial newsletters and websites, huh? huh?!?!
mr. alka: <exits stage right>
re: alkapal
When my mom calls, she has been known to ask not just "Are you on the computer?" but "Are you on Chowhound?"
A few people do, though I don't think any of them realize the extent. I've got a great reputation among family and friends for always knowing the best restaurants to go to, thanks to Chow. I especially enjoyed a trip to Tucson with my aunt & uncle a few months ago, when we ate at a different Chow-recommended restaurant every night. They were thrilled that I'd been able to steer us to so much excellent food, and while I'd love to claim that of course I, a life-long east-coaster, just happened to know which little hole-in-the-wall Mexican place would have the best tacos in Arizona, I give credit where credit's due. I don't think anyone I've mentioned it to actually uses the site though, so my role as go-to restaurant recommender and obscure ingredient finder remains unchallenged. Whew. :-)
I can't shut up about food and my obsession with it so anyone who knows me, even remotely, would probably realise very soon that it is my overriding passion in life. I remember meeting my neighbour for the first time and asking her what she liked to eat after about 2 minutes! I was kind of hoping to find a fellow foodie until she replied, with a look of utter puzzlement on her face: "anything easy like boiled pasta and a jar of bought sauce" as if anyone could be bothered to actually make anything that required the slightest bit of time and effort. Sigh.
Sometimes I think that everyone knowing about it has led to me being pidgeon-holed in such a way that all my presents in the last year have been food-related. Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining! But I'd like to think I'm not as one-dimensional as I'm obviously coming across...
<sigh> They know all too well how obsessed I am with this site. My friends have picked up on it enough that they no longer ask, when I take them to a restaurant I've been wanting to go to, how I heard about it. And sometimes, when they're looking for something in particular, they ask, "is there anything about it on Chowhound?"
My last boyfriend often threatened to check out the site because I "seem to enjoy it so much." Cue me snarling and growling over my Chowhound food dish because I didn't want to share. Now, I've just started dating someone new (a chef! A 'hound's holy grail!), and while he hadn't heard of CH three weeks ago when I met him, he has already picked up the habit of asking, "What does Chowhound have to say about this place?" when we have dinner out. It's sad how quickly I've gotten predictable.
re: Wahooty
>>>"My last boyfriend often threatened to check out the site because I "seem to enjoy it so much." "<<<
....and that is why he is your "former" boyfriend.
re: alkapal
Actually, yes and no. His willingness to explore my passions was a big part of what was keeping us together...it was the fact that he didn't have many of his own that was the problem. I shouldn't have to share ALL of my toys. :)
re: Wahooty
ah. i read it like he didn't even have enough interest to actually check out chowhound.
you know, wahooty, your original post made me think whether i would want mr. alka to be "into" chow like i am. i'm not sure of the answer! ;-).
re: alkapal
I've actually been thinking about that - I really didn't want the previous guy to start reading, because it's always been my thing that nobody else I know does. Plus, he probably would have read just to see what I wrote, not to actually contribute anything to the conversation. But now that I'm dating someone even more 'houndish than I am, I want to get him into it. But then, what if we break up, and then awkwardly bump into each other in "Home Cooking" and get into a pointless but heated debate about avocados?
re: Wahooty
or worse yet, one of those "not about food" threads, where we hear about crazy dining companions -- or worse -- the ever-present "tipping" thread!
re: alkapal
"You think that's bad? My ex-girlfriend once INSISTED on bringing her OWN kirgilnix to a party when she knew it was the host's specialty..."
re: Wahooty
well, for sure, kirgilnix is a contentious matter!
re: alkapal
With most couples, I find that balance is a positive. I love wine. My wife enjoys wine. Not quite opposite ends but there is balance.
I love food to a very high degree, but an not really a cook. My wife could be a chef, given the time, yet she isn't as deeply commited to food, as I have become. Possibly that "time" thing.
Still, we find the balance. Sometimes, two deeply passionate folk might tip the scales too far and too quickly. Yes, I am into balance.
Yup, everyone knows about it. My SO has "threatened" to join and post to argue with me, not that we actually disagree about things. He appreciates what I've found here and loves my cooking.
The other day when we were out with my Mom and had horrible service, she asked if I'd be posting about it on "my food site". I told her I was already forumulating the post.
I'm afraid I mention it constantly in conversations with people who probably could care less, but something will come up and I have to say "There's a long thread on chowhound.com about this" and mention the current opinions going on.
re: tracylee
I use that "There's a long thread on CH about this..." as well. With other friends who are "into food" there is little to no reaction, as it's just "understood". With those that aren't, I sometimes get a bit of an eyeroll (from my sister) but she'll still come to me to ask for restaurant recommendations for her area. :-)
re: LindaWhit
I understand this clearly. We have two great friends, a couple, who are both heavily into both wine and into food. The wife has written several cookbooks and appears on the electronic media with regularity. We share much in common with them. Still, even with my references to CH, neither has shown any interest. That is fine. We love them dearly, value their friendship and their company. I've shared the references, but neither has expressed an interest. That does not diminish my respect, or alter my feelings at all. Even when we've dined together and they are referenced in passing, I do not think that either one has ever read one of my reviews.
re: Passadumkeg
I'm not sure if "wifey" is jealous of my time on CH, but she may be jealous of you... :)
In response to the OP, I tell some friends about my involvement in Chowhound. I want to share in my enjoyment of places I have found or come to appreciate. Also, my love of cooking. Just like anyone might recommend a store to a friend for their specialty or quality, I point people to Chowhound and my personal Google maps.
I am concerned that as my reputation grows (?) I will to go to a place and be recognized. I don't want this to happen. SO said the other night, "Are you bringing the camera and is this a Chowhound meal? Sometimes she wants a break from it. It is almost second nature to me to look for a new place to investigate and report back on, if we leave the New Haven universe.
OTOH, Pass lives and teaches in a small town and is a volunteer DJ there. Everybody knows him, I'm sure. I don't think he flaunts his CH involvement publicly, but he sure doesn't hide it.
OP's question has two distinct components: being known and being remembered. I've wondered some on the second myself. Seems the second element requires having a voice that people want to listen to. I've watched the "reading me list" grow to almost equal my "read list", which might be like saying my paperback has almost sold enough to cover my expenses or the folks in my ceramics class really love my work, which never sells...
I have made one friend, for sure, yet I don't think it would cause a ripple if I dropped off the face of Chowhound. I certainly am not striving for cult status that EN has achieved (as everyone was wondering why he went missing, at one point). I see it as a hobby and an outlet. I do hope that pleasure is received by some, as when Pass and I chronicled our road trip.
today I had to have my husband go on to CH for me. I had reported a restaurant was closed a few days ago. Today as I went by, it had re-opened. Since someone had a reservation for the place this evening, I felt I needed to report back right away that they had re-opened. so rather then wait the 45 minutes until I got home my husband graciously agreed to go on for me and report my findings. The funny thing is he had no interest in reading any of the other posts I've made so my obsession is still kind of under the radar.
I'm in the same boat!! Many of my friends and my family benefits from my CH obsession, but nobody knows how much I read and post on the boards, and that everything they love comes from here...it's like my secret food resource on anything and everything :D


text:
The Indianapolis Indians had yesterday off and will not play until July 18th, the day after the Triple-A All-Star game.
The Tribe will have a few of their own represent in Wednesday night's performance.
Four players from Indianapolis will play at Aces ballpark in Reno, Nevada closing pitcher Vic Black, with a stellar 2.25 ERA, 37 strikeouts and just 11 walks in 28 innings.
Shortstop Josh Harrison, batting a .356 with 12 doubles, 5 triples, 3 homers and 16 RBI.
Starting Pitcher Kris Johnson with a 2.89 ERA with 54 strikeouts and 27 walks in 13 starts.
And Tony Sanchez, batting .303 with 22 doubles and a career high 36 RBI.


text:
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Oh. Dear. God.
Oh. Dear. God.
At first, I was thinking that this sounds like a wonderful concept.
Then, it hit me that this would just amount to the top x% of raiders just running OS+2 over.. and over... and over... to gear up the other y%. Or Heigan. Or having the same tank for Momma said Knock You Out 8 times in a week.


text:
1 (64 oz.) cranberry juice
1 (32 oz.) apple juice
1 (12 oz.) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 (12 oz) can frozen pineapple juice, concentrated and thawed
3 to 4 cinnamon sticks
1-quart water, optional
In a large saucepan combine juices and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add water if desired. Serve hot or cold.
Yield: about 4 quarts
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Ease of preparation: easy
Notes from Paula's test kitchen: If unable to find frozen pineapple juice, replace with 12 ounces of canned pineapple juice and only add water to taste. Test Kitchen smelled heavenly while this was cooking. We added 4 cloves on our second test and removed before serving. Great Flavor and such a beautiful drink.


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Revealed to the world 11 days ago at the 65th International Motorcycle Exhibition in Milan, the next generation Monster 696 will make its first North American appearance at three select Northwest Ducati dealerships during the week leading up to the Seattle round of the Cycle World International Motorcycle Shows.
The Monster 696 is here! The focus of thousands of internet forum postings and endless hours of discussion since its unveiling, the time for speculation is over—the 696 must be seen!
Join Motocorsa, Ducati Seattle and Eastside Motosports on the 27th, 28th and 29th, respectively, to get an up close and personal look at this completely redesigned Ducati.
When: November 27 @ 8:00pm
Where: Motocorsa
2170 NW Wilson St
Portland, OR 97210
When: November 28 @ 4:00pm
Where: Ducati Seattle711 9th Ave N
Seattle, WA 98109
When: November 29 @ 5:00pm
Where: Eastside MotoSports
13029 NE 20th St
Bellevue, WA 98005
Each event will be a party of individual design. Ducati Seattle will fill their showroom with a variety of custom Monsters from the ages to showcase and celebrate this legendary line. After the parties, make your way to Ducati's IMS display Friday through Sunday.


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Pandora has something to teach Facebook
Here's a closer look at the Internet radio company's latest earnings report.
By Eric McWhinnie, Editor at Wall St. Cheat Sheet
If you have heard it once, you have heard it a thousand times: Facebook (FB) has an extremely popular product, but the company needs to monetize its massive user base. Further, it needs to capitalize on the growing movement to mobile. Fortunately, investors looking for an Internet company with a stronger presence in mobile do not have to look too hard.
The "P" in Pandora (P) does not stand for profit yet, but the radio Internet company is getting closer. After Wednesday's close, Pandora reported financial results for the second quarter. The company's loss widened to $5.4 million, compared to $1.8 million a year earlier. However, excluding one-time items such as $6 million in stock based compensation, Pandora broke even on a non-GAAP basis.
"This quarter exceeded our expectations as our strong momentum continues with both listeners and advertisers," stated Joe Kennedy, chief executive officer. "In particular, this quarter demonstrated that our mobile monetization strategies are working."
Compared to last year, Pandora's total revenue surged 51% to $101.3 million. Mobile revenue jumped 86% year-over-year, with total mobile revenue (including subscription revenue on mobile) coming in at $59.2 million. The 86% gain was close to the 96% growth rate in mobile hours, meaning the monetization gap is narrowing.
Kennedy explains, "In fact, if one adjusts the mobile revenue from the second quarter of last year to exclude the revenue associated with the single large advertiser we had at that time, our growth in mobile revenue year-on-year actually outpaced the growth in mobile hours." Listening hours for the quarter amounted to 3.3 billion, exceeding the total number of hours U.S. consumers spent on YouTube (GOOG) in the same period.
While Facebook users are reluctant to click on advertising when browsing timelines and news feeds, music listeners are already familiar with auditory advertisements. Pandora still has competition from other music outlets such as Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) and Spotify, but managed to increase its active users to 55 million by the end of July. This represents a 48% increase from the same period last year.
Going forward, Pandora plans on maintaining its strong presence by growing in new markets such as Australia and New Zealand. The company also takes pride in upgrading service to keep customers satisfied. Last week, it released the most comprehensive update in three years for its Android app. Pandora also upgraded its iOS Apple (AAPL) app about a month ago.
Shares of Pandora surged more than 18% on Thursday, as the company also raised its guidance. It now expects full-year revenue to total between $425 million and $432 million, compared to the prior range of $420 million to $427 million.
Eric McWhinnie is an editor at Wall St. Cheat Sheet. As of this writing, he did not own a position in any of the aforementioned stocks.
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Cooperation in the Classroom: Experimenting with R&D Cooperatives
AbstractThis paper describes a classroom experiment that illustrates the research and development investment incentives facing firms when technological spillovers are present. The game involves two stages in which student sellers first make investment decisions then production decisions. The classroom game can be used to motivate discussions of research joint ventures, the free-rider problem, collusion, and antitrust policy regarding research and development.
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Bibliographic InfoPaper provided by Tinbergen Institute in its series Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers with number 06-081/1.
Date of creation: 27 Sep 2006
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:dgr:uvatin:20060081
Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://www.tinbergen.nl
Related researchKeywords: classroom games; research and development; research joint ventures; technological spillovers;
Other versions of this item:
- Michelle S. Goeree & Jeroen Hinloopen, 2008. "Cooperation in the Classroom: Experimenting with R&D Cooperatives," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(4), pages 357-373, September.
- C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
- L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
- L41 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Monopolization; Horizontal Anticompetitive Practices
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
- NEP-ALL-2006-11-18 (All new papers)
- NEP-EXP-2006-11-18 (Experimental Economics)
- NEP-INO-2006-11-18 (Innovation)
- NEP-MIC-2006-11-18 (Microeconomics)
ReferencesReferences listed on IDEAS
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- Selten, Reinhard & Stoecker, Rolf, 1986. "End behavior in sequences of finite Prisoner's Dilemma supergames A learning theory approach," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 47-70, March.
- Mansfield, Edwin, 1985. "How Rapidly Does New Industrial Technology Leak Out?," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(2), pages 217-23, December.
- D Leahy & J.P. Neary, 1995.
"Public Policy Towards R&D in Oligopolistic Industries,"
CEP Discussion Papers, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE
dp0270, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
- Leahy, Dermot & Neary, J Peter, 1997. "Public Policy towards R&D in Oligopolistic Industries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, American Economic Association, vol. 87(4), pages 642-62, September.
- Leahy, Dermot & Neary, J Peter, 1995. "Public Policy Towards R&D in Oligopolistic Industries," CEPR Discussion Papers, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers 1243, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
- Jorde, Thomas M & Teece, David J, 1990. "Innovation and Cooperation: Implications for Competition and Antitrust," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, American Economic Association, vol. 4(3), pages 75-96, Summer.
- Cohen, Wesley M & Levinthal, Daniel A, 1989. "Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 569-96, September.
- Amir, Rabah, 2000.
"Modelling imperfectly appropriable R&D via spillovers,"
International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier,
Elsevier, vol. 18(7), pages 1013-1032, October.
- Rabah Amir, 1998. "Modelling Imperfectly Appropriable R&D via Spillovers," CIE Discussion Papers, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. Centre for Industrial Economics 1998-07, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. Centre for Industrial Economics.
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Cited by:
- Don J. Webber & Andrew Mearman, 2012.
"Students' perceptions of economics: identifying demand for further study,"
Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals,
Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(9), pages 1121-1132, March.
- Don J. Webber & Andrew Mearman, 2009. "Students' perceptions of economics:Identifying demand for further study," Working Papers 0914, Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Bristol Business School, University of the West of England, Bristol.
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Shawn Farquhar vs. Penn & Teller
Two-time World Champion of Magic Shawn Farquhar earns his way to Vegas. Teller saw through part of his sleight of hand, but the duo still couldn't figure out the trick. Show starts at 2:40.
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Wilshire Boulevard Temple
Laura Eversz
Edition: 10/29/2004
Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles and one of the oldest in the United States, will mark two milestones with a gala dinner and concert on Sun., Nov. 21.
Mandy Patinkin will entertain at "The Life of a Building and the Building of a Life," commemorating the 75th anniversary of the landmark temple at 3663 Wilshire Blvd. The event also honors retiring executive director Steve Breuer's 50 years of service to the congregation and community.
Breuer, a UCLA graduate and former school teacher, joined the Wilshire Boulevard staff in 1962, and soon became director of the temple's Camp Hess Kramer and Gindling Hilltop Camp. For the past 25 years, he has served as the congregation's executive director.
Said senior Rabbi Steven Leder, "For more than 140 years, this congregation has been blessed with monumental rabbinic, staff and lay leadership—people who had the vision and the will to create and sustain this great temple. On the occasion of this historic date, we honor our temple forebears and our own Steve Breuer, who exemplifies their spirit."
Among the building's distinctive features is its great dome—100 feet in diameter and rising 135 feet from the street. Heavy East Indian teakwood doors open into a foyer decorated in gold and black Italian marble. Movie moguls Jack, Harry and Abe Warner donated murals surrounding the sanctuary that depict the story of creation.
The building is home to a Kimball organ, whose 4,100 pipes are enclosed in five soundproof rooms.
For tickets or further information, call Ellie Klein at 213-388-2401.


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Do You Ever Travel Other Than To Visit Family?
Every spring, summer, and winter break, my immediate family would make the 10-hour trek to my grandparents' farm in Missouri. I always had a fabulous time with my huge family, but it still blows my mind when I hear about friends' childhood vacations spent at campsites, lake houses, and Disney World..
Maybe it helps if you already live near your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins? I had the most fortunate childhood possible, full of creative, nurturing, fun, happy parents, piano lessons, ballet, big city adventures, birthday breakfast tables, and snow picnics. We had a lovely time at home together, but when vacation time came around (my parents were teachers), I don't think it occurred to any of us to go anywhere but my grandparents'. My parents worked on the farm and helped take care of the house, I ran around with my cousins and did farm chores, and other than the gas to get there, a summer of fun was basically free. I can definitely see why we did things that way!
But now, as an adult, I'm trying to find a bit of balance. I was with someone for 8 years and we only ever went away for one weekend together: every bit of travel time and travel money was spent making the cross-country trip to see our families. I wouldn't trade that time with family for the world, but I would definitely have taken more vacations if I could. I still don't have tons of money or time for travel, so I'm trying to divvy it up as best I can. Last year I took a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Italy so I could attend (and make the cake for) my dear friends' wedding, but it cost me a trip to see my grandparents. I simply couldn't do both. This year I was sad to miss a family wedding, but it fell at the same time that two of my best friends and I were invited to spend two weeks in New York City working on a pastry collaboration with the MoMA. I hope to have many more holidays and vacations and visits with my darling family, but sometimes you have to go someplace fabulous and make cake with your friends.
Is all your vacation time and money devoted to travelling to see family? Or are you able to balance priceless parent and grandparent time with getaways with your partner, immediate family, and best friends?
(Image: Gregory Han)
35 Comments
When I was a kid, we only traveled to see family and it was very sad for me. As an adult, I try to strike a balance because I can't stand the idea of only ever traveling to see family. My family members don't live in any interesting areas, so seeing family is almost the only point to visiting their town.
My family is close enough (6-8 hrs by car) that we can make weekend trips often enough. In that sense, it doesn't cut into vacation money or time too much. However that gas money really adds up quickly, and we can only ask friends to watch our dog so many times in a year. Plus even weekend travel requires recuperation, and I can only be away from home for so long. So yes, visiting family ultimately cuts into more lavish, solo vacations than I would like. But I love my family and don't want to miss my nieces and nephews growing up. All of this means that every time I see my family, I try to convince them how awesome life is in my part of the country and why they should move closer. It's worked on one sister so far.
Well my close family mostly lives half an hour away (though I do have some relatives twelve hours by plane away) so it doesn't necessarily affect my holiday plans.
I don't remember ever doing a "just for fun" trip as a kid. My Dad would sometime drag us along on his business road trips so we were able to see quite a few states and monuments. My parents had us young and had only one income so a Disney World vacation was really out of the question... they did what they could. We were usually just thrilled to be able to swim in the Motel pool at wherever we stopped along the way!
Unfortunately, my vacation situation hasn't gotten much better. I drive to Vegas a couple times a year. But big trips are usually just because I "have to", (weddings, etc...). Otherwise I can't justify spending the money.
Maybe one day!
I try to differentiate between vacation and visiting. Vacation is centered around me seeing doing and seeing what I want. Visiting involves traveling to another state and playing seemingly endless games of candyland with nieces and nephews (and loving every minute of it). I try to have at least one week long vacation a year. It get harder and harder as my family has gets more and more spread out. I want to see all these people but there are only so many PTO days in a year.
The answer would seem to be an occasional big family gathering that's somewhere interesting but that's not too far for anyone?
funny, my partner and I are considering moving from NYC (where both our families live) to a place with better public schools and more trees and mountains--Vermont? Colorado? and this is the one reason I hesitate. as the bearers of the only grandchild on both sides of the family the obligation to spend our vacations with them would be unbearable.
as a child I grew up in close proximity to my extended families so the few family vacations we took we went to vaca spots--Disney, jersey shore, or the jersey shore. :)
rarely--not enough vacation time and too far from home
My immediate family is spread out over Europe, America, and Asia, so I travel approx. 100k miles by air to see them each year. Due to the ridiculous costs involved with this, my partner and I tack on little vacations to these longer trips. For example, I spent some time with my family in Bangkok last year, then flew 1.5 hours south to Singapore to vacation with my partner before heading back home. It worked out so well that we're planning on doing it again this Christmas . . . except I would prefer Bali this time!
Lots of family trips. Lots of not-family trips. Lots of hours logged in an unairconditioned station wagon, dragging a pop-up trailer. My childhood summers were conducted at 70 miles an hour, playing License Plate.
Absolutely! While the extended family is imprtant, there is also an "us" to foster. Travel for just us makes our relationship that much better, and satisfies our curiosity and need for adventure.
Ugh. That should read "important."
When our kids were younger, yes, we spent all our holidays visiting one set of grandparents because they lived in another country, and missed seeing us. The older kids have great memories of those holidays, but when my third child was born, I decided it was time to see more of the world, and she's been dragged everywhere since she was a baby, with no complaints so far!
We try to tack on vacation days to visiting trips, or meet family somewhere interesting. It's really tough though!!!
I was fortunate to take a trip every year with my parents and sister to go camping, or to Alaska, Hawaii, or skiing. Twice I was lucky enough to go to Europe with my parents. We also took a quick road trip every summer to see my grandparents, but it was done budget style, staying in my their tiny apartment. My parents chose travel over other comforts, and that has strongly influenced the way I live my life now. We still go home to see my parents and in-laws, but we also try to get out of the country every year. I faithfully collect airline miles, and save pennies so that we can see the world. Curiosity and love of travel is a gift my parents gave to me through experience and through their stories. I hope to pass that on to my children someday.
As a kid we went on road trips up the California coast to visit my grandparents. So it was a bit of both.
Now as an adult I live across the country from my family (but luckily very close to my husband's) so most trips are to see them. They live in Orange County, CA so there is plenty to do there. That is our big trip every year and so far we've been lucky to get to take month long trips, but we try to do a couple of small trips, too. For instance this year I spent 2 months with my family, we went to Washington, D.C. for 2 days (one night), are going on a day trip to Coney Island in August, and are going to Amish Country for 2 days (one night) in September and my parents are going to visit us for about a week in November. We don't have a lot of extra money but family and travel are priorities for us and I always find the most inexpensive way to do everything so we can fit it all in. We have a family bucket list of the places we want to go and the plan is to go to at least one a year, however time and budget allow. It's working for us so far.
My family is spread out. Each member lives a different state and much of my time is spent visiting them. I enjoy doing it but it's very rare I get to see something new, unless I travel on business. I do become resentful -- especially around the holidays -- that I'm the one who does all the traveling. With all my visiting them, I very rarely have guests.
Our families are at a distance, so our "vacations" are usually to visit them - Thanksgiving (one set), Xmas (the other set), and once over the summer, usually. But then there's no "us"-fostering like BruceS63 mentioned. So recently I've been insisting on at least a few short weekend trips a year, just our little family exploring a new place that is within a 3-4 hour drive.
No. I've been on quite a few vacations with no family ties. The majority of my family make everything a chore, haha. We recently went to Disneyland and the SD Zoo for a more "local" trip (I grew up in San Diego but my husband has never been) and so I wanted to have fun and be tourists. We did see my sister's family because they have zoo passes, but we were strapped for time, and we drove 24 hrs with friends in one car to get there, and it would have been horrible for them (in my opinion) to go sit at my grandparents for a few hours while my aunts talked loudly over one another. And yes, I got a few rude text messages about not appreciating my family (I expected that and my parents warned me haha), but, I had fun, so I didn't mind.
we went on two "real" vacations that i can remember when i was a kid - one to yellowstone park and one to disneyland in california. even both of those places had uncles to stay with - if we hadn't had family in those places, my parents never could have afforded to take us. otherwise, our vacations were visits to grandma's house a few hours away. these days i'm very torn on how to spend my vacation time. my husband is travel hungry, but i moved halfway across the country, my parents don't live in my hometown anymore, and so seeing the rest of my family in that general vicinity means an entirely separate trip. and i just feel guilty about spending time and money to go places where we don't know anybody when i could be spending time with them. just the consequence of moving so far from home i suppose. but oh well, if i had it to do over again, i'd make the same decision.
The other option is to take family vacations with the grandparents coming along or have them visit you during non-vacation time so that your vacation time is available for other trips.
All the time.
Going on a trip to see family isn't a vacation because it is filled with obligations. A vacation is going someplace where you can relax, explore, and have fun in whatever way you choose.
My husband and I take a month vacation every year, just the two of us, and it keeps us interesting and interested in the world. If my only free time was used to see family it would be dull dull dull, and I would feel the same.
My family is centered in Hawaii, where I live, and Portland, Or. mainland trips have been centered on family when I was a kid and got pretty boring year after year. Now, I have friends on East Coast to visit (one eve has a farm so it's a working vacation!).
Lots of friends like to come and visit us, to the point that I feel a bit guilty about going away on holiday and having to tell people I won't be around to host.
Family was all within 30 minutes drive-both growing up and now with in-laws.
Which I guess is good because a guard my vacation time (just 3 weeks) like a beast because I love international travel.
The downside of course is that because everyone is in town, we're expected to be at every family event and there are only so many hours in a day.
For most of my adult life, my trips have been either to visit family or traveling to competitions with my rowing team. Just this past fall (after a spat with my mother), I decided to eschew the family Christmas trip and booked a trip by myself to NYC. It was awesome, I visited friends in the area, shopped, ate amazingly well, and did everything I wanted to do.
With 2 kids and 2 adults, we only have enough finances to visit family. They live halfway across the world, and with the rising costs of airfare, we can't afford to do anything else. We're lucky we have enough to visit.
I have a really really small family. And except for my grandparents, we don't talk. There's no animosity, it's just not something we do. So I guess I'm the complete opposite of this post. I always thought it was weird when people traveled and went on vacations to visit family, just because I couldn't ever imagine doing it.
We live 20 hours from family so our vacations are almost always family centered. They are still fun though. My brother lives in Orlando so last year we went to disney world.
As number six in an 8-child family living on a single income, we were lucky if we got to make the trek to see my dad's parents once every few years. Even those vacations petered off as my parents kept having more kids. Now that I'm an adult, it still blows my mind that I am "allowed" to go anywhere in the world I want--as long as I have the cash and the passport! My husband has very little family still living, and they all live in one place. Luckily, that one place is New Mexico, and our favorite place to visit, so his small family gets way more time than my large one. But I still try to put in the effort to see the family members who put in the effort to stay in touch with me. I've spent many years living in a city between the cities where my siblings live and having my family skip over me when they do road trips to see their kids. If they're not going to try to see me while they're passing a few hours away, why should I go out of my way to visit them? I'd rather use that money to go do something fabulous.
Does anyone else have this problem? If I ever want to see any family members, I have to be the one who takes on the travel costs and responsibilities. Hardly anyone in my family has seen my home, and I've paid to go see theirs again and again.
Living in the Bay Area means that often our families come visit us! Also, our parents, grandparents, and my husbands sister all live 3 hours away (near each other), so we tend to spend many weekends with them throughout the year and save vacation time for "us" trips.
We do have some extended family that we travel to see, but that is mostly because the live in/near vacation destinations- San Diego, Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Toronto. When we visit them we usually make our own plans and stay in hotels, but if they offer to play tour guide or have us over we take them up on it.
Knacked, I feel like I have the same problem with family members expecting me to come visit them rather than them every coming to see me. A few years ago, I got tired of it, and just stopped. It's been liberating. Now I try to see my mom where she lives once a year, and we try to go to my in-laws once a year. If they want more, they can come to us (the in-laws do, my mom...not so much).
Now we're in the process of trying to find a way to keep a visit to each set of parents once a year, and add a nice week for us to vacation somewhere on our own without familial obligation.
Nearly six years ago, my husband and I moved from North Carolina to Massachusetts. His family lives in Ohio, my family lives in North Carolina. He doesn't like to fly, so, we end up driving, and either family is a two day drive. I have been to see my family 4 times. My Mother came up twice, one trip I paid for as a gift, and my sister is coming up in November. Each time, I'm met with, "how much time do I have to take off?" or, "I can't spend more than three days away from home." I love my family, and I realize that I'm the one that moved away, but even when I lived IN the same state as them, they never wanted to visit. In April of 2014, my nephew is getting married-I refuse to spend all of my vacation time there. I love my family, but enough is enough.
Most of our vacations since moving here have been to see family...I am now at a job where I can take more time off and plan to do so. :)
oh, i used to. pre-kids, we traveled. and now, i want to. but we just default to the grandparents house every vacation. i resist it, i look for other things to do, i save my pennies - but in the end, it means they pay for a nice chunk of the travel costs, there is no hotel to pay for, we're not paying for meals, they babysit after the kids go to bed, and they're nice. irritating, but nice. but i am plotting to take a non-grandparents vacation anyway. even though i do this every year and every year i wind up agreeing that we should just go there.


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