It seems like you are coming from a conservative Christian viewpoint, which is by nature patriarchal. I think most people (not all) who don't think it's necessary to ask for a woman's hand in marriage are not conservative, or in some cases even Christian. My father was a man (as you say,) but that doesn't mean he needed to be asked if I can marry a man of my choosing. I'm all for men being men- I don't want a relationship with a wet noodle, but I am sure not going to put up with a domineering patriarchal ass. Nor will I be submissive. If someone wanted to ask for my hand in marriage, I would have worried about our future.

"What are you hoping for?" (Ummm... a baby?) "WHAT? You still have 2 more months?" (Shut up, B*TCH) "Haven't had that baby yet? My wife was due after you, and she had her baby last week!" (Just glad you're not my husband, dude.) "A little cranky today, are you?" (When I was 8 days overdue. No ****, Sherlock.)

I was 29, we had been living together for two years and had owned a business together for a year. Would have seemed silly at that point to ask for a hand in marriage. I also think the idea (not the way it is practiced now) is bordering on barbaric. From the times of women being chattel, and basically being sold off from father to husband. Blech.

I've been a gymnastics coach, and I would say don't do it. Leave her in the 3-5 yr old class, go twice per week. The physical structure of 2-yr-olds is such that they should not be doing a lot of the skills older kids are doing (looser joints, head large in comparison to their body.) A good teacher would know this and adjust the lesson plan accordingly for your daughter, but what if the regular teacher has a sub? Plus, there is no rush if your daughter is 2. I would not put one of my children in an advanced class until age 4 at least. Do they have open gym times? Then you can just take your dd in and let her play on the equipment- that would build her strength, so when she's ready to put in more time she's ready. ETA- as your daughter does increase hours in the gym, be sure to watch the class. Make sure it stays fun and exciting for her, and the coach does not treat 5-yr-olds like they are 15 and training for the Olympics. That attitude will burn the kids out fast.

Try watching this lecture on YouTube: It's by the guy who did the FatHead movie. It has helped me a lot when I'm reading news articles about scientific studies.

:grouphug: Just wanted to say- I agree with you that everyone seems to be ignoring your stated reason for posting. I was giggling about all the strange (to me) posts at first, but now it's starting to seem like the twilight zone. That happens here every now and then... Anyway, I think the HR lady was a jerk- she should have addressed the issue and gave her reason, not a quick shake of her head indicating that no one should get the poor woman some food. But- I don't think you're in a good place to say something about it to the HR lady, because it didn't happen to you... might make it look like your friend was complaining to you about it. I do think you should tell your friend to ask about the company's policy, if it bothers her. Or you can ask your friend if she would mind if you ask.

I usually just throw out a variety of foods for my dd's friends. She often has a pack over. I've frankly never worried about whether or not they like the food- it's free food and they're teenagers! They usually clean me out of whatever I put out. Dd recently told me that her friend like and respect me. I didn't think they would have an opinion one way or another, so I asked her why that is. Dd told me it's because I don't care if they like me or not, and I treat them like they have brains.

I smell it. I'm very sensitive to mildew, so I can't leave it long at all. Definitely not over night.

I totally agree with this. My daughter is terrible at test-taking. I sent her to a tutoring place for over a year to work on her test-taking skills and specific skills needed for the test. It helped enormously, but it was a HUGE time commitment and a LOT of work. That's different than cheating.

I think they will be looking for kids who go to school, but take the test at a different school, especially if they take the test at a school 50+ miles away from where they live.

I think Alexander McCall Smith would fit the bill- No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, and the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series.

:iagree: I can't imagine using a big box store for anything that needs an expert. Their staff is generally overworked and has high turnover.

I got a really inexpensive glucose meter at Walgreens. When I was researching them, I discovered that most glucose meters are pretty equal as far as acuracy goes, so I just go the one that has the cheapest test strips. Here's a website that helped me out a lot when I was starting this: Blood Sugar 101 I tested fasting, before eating, 1 hour after eating, and 2 hours after eating. ("Eating" seems to be defined as when you start your meal.) Now I test that much if I'm trying a new food, but usually I test in the AM, 2 hrs after breakfast, and one other time during the day.

I started monitoring my blood sugar late last summer, after reading one of Jean's posts (thanks, Jean!) The first fasting (morning) blood sugar I took was over 200. CRAP! I thought it was a mistake. I made an appointment with my internist. By the time my appointment rolled around 3 weeks later, my fasting blood sugar was 129 (still not good.) HBa1C wasn't so great either. This morning, my blood sugar was 98. Not great, but no longer a disaster. My blood sugar hasn't been over 120 in weeks. I have done this without medication. I reduced my blood sugar by monitoring my diet and how my body responds to different foods. I only eat about 50 carbs per day, all from green veggies. I feel absolutely fantastic. I dropped 20 lbs right off the bat, without reducing calories at all. I have increased exercise, because that helps use up blood sugar and increase insulin sensitivity... seems to be working. Oh, I'm pretty sure I also have PCOS, but I've never been diagnosed. I know I've had a lot of ovarian cysts.

I wouldn't have done that. If I wanted to make that particular point in that particular manner, I would have told him to just smell it and put it to his lips like he did with the vodka. I don't think torturing the child is going to keep him out of trouble. I think they accomplished breaking down his trust of them.

So can Chicken Pox, apparently.;) (Kind of kidding! I know influenza is a lot worse than Chicken pox.) I don't get the vaccine, because I don't think they do a good job of forcasting what strains of flu will be making the rounds. It also doesn't seem like my friends who do get the flu shot are any less likely to get it than me. I keep my vitamin D levels up through the winter to help with prevention.

I voted "other" because of the way you worded the first choice. I plan to pay for college for my kids if possible, but I don't think they are "entitled" to it.

:iagree: I had some of the best conversations ever at a graduation party last spring. Everyone else at the party belonged to a VERY conservative church in town, I'm an atheist. You would think we'd have nothing in common- I was planning to stop by for a brief visit- but I ended up staying for hours. If I had allowed myself to get defensive and feel like everyone was looking down their nose at me, I would have missed out on a great time.

At any age, learn to balance on two wheels first. The Strider balance bikes are great, but you can make any bike into a balance bike- just take off the pedals and the training wheels! Make sure your dd can reach the ground on both sides with flat feet, and let her scoot around for a few days until she can glide for a while and turn. Then put the pedals back on, and she can just start pedalling as she's gliding.

When I don't recognize the phone # of the person calling me, I answer the phone, "Hello, this is Pam..." I just don't see the problem with telling my name to someone who called my cell phone. Most wrong numbers will say something like, "Oh, I'm sorry- I was looking for so-and-so. Do I have the wrong number?" Well, I don't say,"Hello, this is Pam..." when I answer the door either.

I got a "Last" once!

My book club read this also. Excellent. The author is a neurologist, so she was able to draw a lot from experiences with her patients. She has another book- Left Neglected, which is also very interesting.

I live in Boulder County. One issue here is that the "School Nurses" are not required to be actual nurses. So you have everything from someone who needs a job but has no interest in health, to actual registered nurses fulfilling the roll. I would tell the family to visit schools in the area, and interview the school administrators and "nurses". See if they have any experience with diabetics. There is open enrollment here, so they do not have to go to their neighborhood school- they can pick any school that has room.

The cut-off is Sept 30th in Colorado, not Sept 15.

I had just dropped my kids off at school, and I was meeting with my c-brownie leader at a coffee house. She said she had heard that a plane hit one of the towers- I thought that was strange. Dh & I had recently flown around Manhattan in our Cessna- what kind of idiot would go so far off course and hit a tower? She told me she heard it was a commercial flight. I thought- no way! Then the footage started on TV. I was absolutely astounded. I went home and watched TV a bit, in a daze. We did not have the TV on when our kids were home, because they were young and didn't need to see that. I had friends who were in the city visiting- they were able to rent a car with another couple and drive home. Another friend was returning from a trip abroad when all flights were grounded. He ended up staying in Northern Canada until the plane was allowed to take off again.