I don't understand what you are trying to say. This thread seems awfully judgmental to me. What if there are women who have been in that same situation and aborted due to medical advice? Do you really think those women want to hear someone else say that was actually murder? I don't know, if you can't see that the use of the word "murder" can be offensive there is no way I can reason with you. And you cannot convince me that "murder" is just a term. It is very offensive in this context. And I wanted to state for the record that I am not overly sensitive to this topic due to any personal experience. I just have the ability to put myself in someone else's shoes.

Yes, the original post in which the woman said she chose not to "murder" her child was a big turnoff. Definitely sounds like condemnation to me.

I usually just toss some when I get sick of it getting in the way and/or the kids get a hold of it and I COULD detangle it but realize it's just not worth the effort. So whenever the mood strikes me, I toss some out. (I'm trying to find small ways to keep clutter out of my life and this is one thing I can toss without much guilt...but for the most part I'm talking cheap yarn I've had for years. I might have more trouble getting rid of more expensive yarn).

That's the first thing I thought. I shared these with DH once at a county fair. The cookies get pretty soft and the cream pretty much liquefies and disappears. It's an interesting experience but they weren't all that great!

Not a flame, but I still fail to see how you would know someone is being frugal because they personally feel it is the right thing to do, and being frugal because they're just mindless sheep. Heck, how do you even know that someone just bought a big house and car because that's what the Joneses were doing? Maybe someone just bought a big house because they could afford it and that's what they wanted? It just really bugs me in general when people make all kinds of assumptions about why someone is doing something (that if they didn't do, by the way, they would probably get just as many negative comments if not more).

Yes, I feel the same way about how much people want to spend on cars and weddings too. (But if I don't like the people, I will tend to snark about it! :tongue_smilie:) Seriously though, it really isn't my business.

Huh? I mean, I suppose it's your personal pet peeve and you're welcome to it, but I just don't get it. Why do you care if a neighbor decided to cut back? Even if they both have stable jobs, this doesn't necessarily mean they're not in a stable financial position, or that they want to do better and save more, or whatever. It doesn't mean they're not spending out of fear. Every person has the right to prioritize how to spend their own hard-earned money, right? And it could simply be out of respect for those who truly can't afford big parties, lights, etc. Our area was hit with a really bad ice storm a few years ago before Christmas and about half the people in my town were without electricity for a week or more. You might be surprised to hear about all the people who complained about their neighbors who had the gall to turn on their Christmas lights while they were without power. (For the record, I was without power and I personally enjoyed any lights that I saw). But you just never know.

I would say it's always possible, but if you went to the doctor and gave you a diagnosis, I don't think I'd be too worried. And I do believe you have SOME immunity a week after the shot, although I think they told me when we took the kids that full immunity was two weeks. I hope you feel better soon! I've had sinus infections and they just suck. I've never had ear infections, thankfully. But with a sinus and ear infection at the same time, I think it's expected that you'd feel crummy.

This atheist thanks you for this message! I always figure Holidays is a general term that encompasses Christmas (also, Thanksgiving and the New Year) so what's so wrong with "Happy Holidays?" Glad to hear from Christians who get it too!

Right, because no other president has ever done that before.

I've gotten them on Amazon before, but the shipping time varies. Lately I've been getting them at Bed, Bath and Beyond and using my $5 off coupons. They have a good selection there!

I've never had these, and never even heard of them until recently, but since I started hearing about them I can't seem to stop! In other words, they seem to be getting rave reviews. :) http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/easy-oreo-truffles-95085.aspx

Years ago I lost around 50 pounds by basically counting calories and exercising, mostly exercise videos. I kept it off for several years by generally making the good choices I learned to make while I was dieting and keeping my exercise up at a decent level (like 45 minutes of really sweaty exercise 5 days a week--stuff like the Firm worked the best). But life got more complicated, there was pregnancy, kids (and their leftovers), a less flexible schedule, etc. So now I'm again working to take off a big chunk of weight with Weight Watchers. This latest round of weight gain has taught me that I must be accountable...write down what I eat, do regular weigh-ins, and yes, get my butt off the couch, if I ever hope to keep weight off permanently.

Well, I hated chores as a kid and I hate them now. But I think I would hate them now regardless of whether I had to do them as a kid or not. It's the third variable issue. The two things are correlated through the third variable...me! They're called chores for a reason...because it's not exactly happy happy fun time. When I was a kid, I learned how to do chores the right way, I learned responsibility, I learned pride at a job well done, I learned what it was like to earn my allowance, I learned that it helped my family a little when I dusted or cleaned the bathroom or whatever. So while I did chores as a kid and hated them, I certainly do not feel scarred by the experience.

I got one for Mother's Day, and it's great. I usually only read books once, and after a recent move and lugging all the books around that I'll never read again but can't just get rid of either, I definitely appreciate that the Kindle will prevent book clutter. I hate spending money on books when there is a library in town, but I hate that I can never seem to read library books on my own schedule. They don't have what I want when I want it, they get what I want when I'm in the middle of some other book, whatever. And there is some gross stuff on library books. So yeah, I think I'm done with the library as a source of reading material. At about $10 per book, the Kindle allows me to read most books cheaper than even their paperback counterparts, and I can actually read a brand new book and not wait a year before it comes out in paperback and is therefore affordable. I tend to hoard books because I am afraid I will run out of reading material at an inopportune time. Well, right now I have about 10 books on my Kindle that I have wanted to read for some time. This is great for when I'm not really in the mood for something and want to switch to something else. Especially when I'm traveling! The Kindle weighs the same whether you have 1 book or 50 loaded onto it. And yes, it is super easy to purchase a new book at just about any time. I usually keep my wireless off to extend the battery life, so all I have to do is go to the menu, turn on the wireless, search for a book, and it is sitting there in my Kindle within a minute. I get a receipt from Amazon in my email the next day, just like if I had any other order. Oh and the battery life is amazing. I've gone for a month without having to recharge. As someone else mentioned, it is not backlit. It is easy to read, and I have played with the font size some. You can't do that with old fashioned books! Also, I think the voice feature would come in handy if I had to drive longer distances by myself...who needs books on tape? I like that no one really knows what I am reading when I read in public. I don't have to worry about what people think of me based on what I like to read. And finally, mine is just so pretty. I got an awesome skin that is just beautiful, and I also got a neoprene sleeve (that came with a free booklight, which is something I never thought of getting before but which has come in handy for sure!). Did those reasons help you at all? :) I guess if you were to ask me for a criticism...I read a non-fiction book that was heavy on footnotes. The Kindle edition was formatted so you had to click on the note in the text and go to another page for the text of the note. I much prefer my footnotes to just be at the bottom of the page so I can scan down then back up to the text!

I don't care if it's personal or not. Whatever happened to "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all?" Would you just post this comment about any random member of our community here? Or is it just okay for her because she's public? Personally, I just don't think it's okay to rip on people.

If you can't find someone here, you can try to go to etsy.com and request a custom order: http://www.etsy.com/alchemy/

Thank you for posting that link. I just wanted to say that while I agree with you that this is horrific, I must say I am sick of hearing Christians dismiss incidents like these by saying someone they disagree with isn't really a Christian. There are in fact some Christians who believe in God AND do bad things. I'm just sick of people trying to distance themselves from the basic truth of the matter. These people believe in the same God that all Christians do, they just have a different interpretation of the same book you read. Which is just one of the million reasons I am now an atheist. Because when you look at the religion from an outside perspective, it really is full of hypocrisy.

Congratulations! I was like you, pretty hopeless when I finally (re)joined this summer. It's been over 4 months and I haven't missed a meeting or a weigh-in, even when I did NOT want to know (it's been a bad few weeks but I'm back on track now--just in time for Thanksgiving!). Oh, and I've lost 25 pounds so far!

I had it during two pregnancies. Went on Zoloft during the first and stayed on it. The doctor said that was better than what I was on before pregnancy (Paxil) because it would not affect breastmilk. I did not have PPD for my first but I did (big time) after my second. (I didn't have depression during my first pregnancy).

Are you priming the steam before you start using it? I didn't do that the first time I used it and I noticed a difference ever since I started doing that. You just pump the handle a bunch of times before you start, and then every now and then when I'm at a really sticky part I get the steam going again.

http://www.e-mealz.com/ Check out that site. I've been following it for a couple months now. They have menus for Aldi or Wal-Mart, or you can go with the any store plan. I am following the two person, five meal a week, points, shop anywhere plan. I have been bad about clipping coupons lately. Even though we're only following the two person plan, there are many meals that feed more than two people, so they may feed the whole family or if my kids decide to get all picky, there are leftovers for lunch. I pretty much just buy what is on the list they provide then juice and other staples each week and spend about $60 on food a week. It's really helped me stop over-purchasing, which of course eliminates waste. And there are a lot of meals with frozen veggies, or you just have a salad on the side, do you do get some healthy food in. ETA: It is $15 to join and that is good for a few months. When I joined I just looked online for a coupon code and found one that saved me a couple dollars. I am not good about saving the menus each week but you could do that so you wouldn't have to sign up again in the future.

Ha! This came up on my e-mealz menu recently. It was my first week on e-mealz so I didn't deviate at all. This wasn't bad, but it definitely reminded me of the Weight Watchers cards I posted above (from the 70's).

As someone who refuses to spank her children, I find this extremely offensive. And I do get compliments all the time on how well-behaved my children are. In response to these questions from the OP: 1) I am failing to see why a medical professional would not ask about discipline. When my kids are at the pediatrician, they ask about the kids' cognitive and behavioral development, and they ask about exposure to lead in the home. Why not ask about discipline? Is that any more intrusive than asking about the kind of environment the kids are raised in? 2) No, I have not been asked. I do remember when I was a kid (and this was 20+ years ago, so it's not just new government intrusion), the doctor would see all my bruises and ask how I got so many. I am very fair and I bruise very easily. My mom tried to jump in and respond, but the doctor shut her up right away because she wanted to hear my answer. Should my mom have been offended at the line of questioning? Possibly. Was she grateful the doctor asked, because it IS the doctor's job to check on my well-being? Absolutely. And as my kids have inherited my fair skin and tendency to bruise easily, I fully anticipate this line of questioning in the future. If you are confident in what you are doing and believe you are not causing harm, then I don't know why you are so offended.

Well, for those watching their figures back in the 70's, there were these wonderful concoctions... http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards.html Maybe you will get some inspiration from them!