Hmm, here in India "gift" is often used as a verb. I always put it down to it being a more British form of the word. I don't know if that is the case, however.

My makeup takes all of 5 minutes but makes me feel so much better! Start with a great foundation. Eyebrows (mine are very light - I sweep a brown eyeshadow over them - miraculous!) Eyeliner and Mascara Lipstick Done.

My mom was diagnosed with fibro about 20 years ago....instead it actually was MS that was only correctly diagnosed about 10 years ago. Be careful of a doctor that is quick to diagnose fibro without having eliminated everything else.

Oh, I don't agree. Being friendly is being friendly. You are allowed to have friends of the opposite gender. What do you do with your friends - you joke, you laugh, you tease, you play games, you hang out. What do you not do with your friends - you don't touch them inappropriately, you don't make suggestive comments, you don't kiss them, etc. There is a clear distinction (for me) about what is "leading on" someone and what is not.

Pretty sure they already feel "equal" to married couples and that they don't need any outside approval to "legitimize" their love.... did you really intend to sound so holier than thou? Or was it a joke?

In some areas it was abandoned because it was believed that people should be able to order their affairs as they wish. If they WANT the protections of marriage, they could get married. If they wanted to AVOID the protections of marriage...they should be free to do that as well.

Ok, I did not read the entire thread. However, this cannot be that hard. Americans make it hard, I think. Emirates is the airline of Dubai. I fly it frequently. They do serve alcohol. As a result of this thread I realized that must be the reason they employ so many foreign flight crew staff. On a typical flight to the US the flight crew speaks about 13 different languages! Clearly, this world-class (really VERY nice) airline has figured out a way to balance religious beliefs and the needs/desires of customers. I don't think it has to be as difficult as we make it seem in the US.

My family was heavily involved in a prominent Christian charity. The head of the Charity was really treated as if he himself could walk on water. When his sexual harrassment of other women working at the headquarters became known it was a crisis of faith for many people. When my father was fired for suggesting that the man should be held accountable for his actions we all learned a lesson. When churches around the nation blackballed my father and others for daring to suggest that the organization needed to stand by the women it was a turning point. I don't put people on pedastals. The higher you put them, the longer the fall. It is too painful.

Oh no - now obsessive DECLUTTERING is a thing... http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/09/ocd-obsessive-compulsive-decluttering-hoarding/401591/?utm_source=SFFB

I don't swear. My kids don't swear. I think swearing is a habit. If you don't start, you don't feel the need to do it. We have one exception - if you stub your toe - you are allowed to swear. I think the F word was made for that event. Other than that...pretty mild around here!

16 kids - I just can't get past that number!

It may have been answered but the answer is impeachment. She has to be impeached.

BTW, the ISKCON temple here in Bangalore is one of the most beautiful temples I have ever been to - and so busy!

I was just thinking I can't be the only one on here with ISKCON experience! I was in high school. For me - it was attractive because it was so different. Shockingly different to my friends. And I wanted that. And of course all sorts of "exotic" rituals and programs. And I agree - great food. In the end I never fully committed. I didn't like the gender roles. I didn't really belong. I have always been fascinated with cults and in college I worked for my school's interfaith center. There were a lot of cults operating on campus back then - heavy recruiting. The interfaith center attempted to offer an alternative path for those seeking a community to be part of. Whatever happened to the Moonies?? Growing up in NYC they were big. My father even attended one of those HUGE moonie weddings. I feel it is often people who feel lost in their own lives who are the best cult members. People who just want to escape into a situation where all the rules are clear and laid out for them. It is a sad situation, really.

I REMEMBER It was Eva Ibbotsen. She has some light funny/scary stories for young kids. But something my daughter brought home had a rape scene in it....she was in 3rd or 4th grade at the time.

I have a voracious and WAY above grade level reader at home - so I did pre-read everything for a long time. That being said here are some things that I found surprising. Numerous books by Roald Dahl are NOT kids books - even if the school librarian doesn't bother to check and just stocks all Roald Dahl books. There was another children's author (blanking) who again had some decidedly non-kids books. Anthony Horowitz is another one. Great kids books. The new Sherlock Holmes books - very NOT kid appropriate.

These sex obsessed conservative fundamentalists are REALLY interesting - http://samuel-warde.com/2015/08/duggar-family-pastor-your-wife-or-else/ I am really fascinated by how much sex is the focus of the radical right...but they want to blame the left for it. ​ In all my years of attending liberal congregations...I have never heard a pastor preach about the sexual relations between spouses.​

If you hold those beliefs...you should not accept a job that would put your beliefs in direct opposition to the duties of your job. Pacifist don't join the army.

I'm a Liberal. I believe in separation of church and state - absolutely and totally. No nativity scene at the town hall. No religous arguments re: abortion rights. No religious rights re: legal acknowledgement of same-sex marriage. I also believe in freedom of religion. If your religion says don't have an abortion - then no one should force one on you. However, if you are in a job that requires you to perform services to the public (like a pharmacist at CVS) I believe you should provide those services without imposing your religious beliefs on your customers. I believe in unions. I believe that workers need to have unions because I do not believe that management or market forces can be trusted to protect the interests of the worker. I beleive it is imparative we protect the planet. And if that means more rules and regulations on industry - I'm fine with it. I believe there is a role for the government to play in many areas - including access to healthcare. I believe it is important that the government find ways to ensure that the elderly, the young, the infirm do not fall between the cracks of our society but are supported and protected. I believe in the importance of public schools to an educated populace. I believe the government should be OUT of people's bedrooms. I believe war should always be the LAST option. And I believe the government owes it to our men and women in the military to provide them with the care and support they need when they come home. Our VA hospitals should be the BEST funded hospitals in the country.

Granted, I haven't lived in the US for almost a decade. Does this constant discussion of "is it a sin, is it not a sin" on this forum reflect what is happening in the US? Is this part of a general reevaluation that people are having all over the country? Because, from just reading this forum I am starting to believe that at least a small representative group of homeschoolers are a tad obsessed with same-sex relationships, same-sex sex, etc.

YEAH zoobie for calling out this utter FASCINATION that certain groups have with homosexual sex. It is VERY clear from this forum as well as from the media that people on the far right spend WAY MORE time thinking about homosexual sex than any other demographic group. You know why? Because for us liberals...it is a NON-ISSUE. Have sex. Don't have sex. Have sex with whomever you want. WE DON'T CARE. The other interesting thing is that at least anecdotally there are an awful lot of people from the far right who have had a fascination with homosexual sex who have been caught...having homosexual sex. No longer surprising. No longer probably even much of a news story. In my own head, the more they rail against sex, sex-out of marriage, homosexual sex...the more I am pretty sure that is exactly the thing they most desire.

My father is a church pastor who has performed gay marriages. In our home the guiding principle was that God is Love. Anything that falls short of treating others with love is falling short in the eyes of God. The end.

My DS 10 is not on the growth chart...and hasn't been for some time! We have been seeing a pediatric endo and have had bone age scans done over the last few years. Every scan showed at least one year of growth delay. All blood tests are normal. The Endo sees a lot of growth hormone deficiency cases and said that she was ruling it out completely. In those cases there are other markers like actually appearing a little chubby in comparison to height. I did worry about self-esteem issues, etc. However, his predicted hight is about 5'6" and to us that is just fine (remember, we live in India....not the worlds tallest people!) One reason we have not changed his schools is that my son has the HEALTHIEST ego and self-esteem. No one comments on his height at school. The only time it is an issue is with new people who assume he is MUCH younger than 10. My feeling is that he will end up like a Tom Cruise guy - super cute, super charismatic and short.

I grew up in Forest Hills, Queens. If you can afford Manhatten - you should look at Forest Hills. One of the most beautiful areas in the NY metro area. I would move to NYC in a heartbeat....if we were going to have the $$$ to enjoy it! I recently faced a similar dilemna. My DH was going to be offered an expat assignment to Cambridge, UK. YES, CAMBRIDGE. It was a dream come true. I was so excited. Kids were so excited. Then we looked at the expat package - no way. We would not have been in a position to live the life we have now, or to take advantage of the wonderful opportunities that would have been available living in the UK. Money would have been an issue all the time. We turned it down. It would have been no fun to be there...but not be able to do the things I would want to do with the kids. Good luck!

Correct - and those are also important signs of agreement to those specific terms, benefits, etc.