Yes, I can't imagine it is easy to talk about. I appreciate your stories and will keep them in my heart. :grouphug:

I totally get this. Imperfection isn't an excuse to just continue hurting people. :grouphug:

Arctic Mama, you are crackin' me up! I never would have pegged you as a makeup junkie. My DD is one. She even has a blog Talk to the Sparkle http://talktothesparkle.blogspot.com/ although she hasn't posted in awhile since school started.

I always take things out of the fridge to get closer to room temp before re-heating. Usually about 3 hours. Never had a problem. However... I will say I might be more hesitant feeding a group. If my family pukes, so be it. If a whole church was puking because of me... :leaving:

Be strong, mama... The dad's behavior will speak for itself as soon as the kids are old enough to understand.

I'm tall, and bootcut jeans for me need a 34 or 35 inch inseam. So mostly Lees don't work for me, because even their "tall" size is a 33". :glare: But 33 is good for the skinny cut, it comes right where it should! Yay! Because of the tall thing, I have spent way more money than a person should have to spend on jeans. I buy a new pair only about every 5 years or so, they are usually $50 minimum, often $75 and up. Try finding a midrise jean AND available in tall size AND doesn't cost a million bucks! . These Walmart jeans are a nice quality and comfortable despite being priced very reasonably. A reason for me to celebrate!

I'm so sorry. My nieces went through this, sitting by the door waiting for their dad to come... GAH! What is wrong with some parents?!! I will say this, the kids survived and thrived with other loving family. The dad is the one who paid in the end. :grouphug:

I'm glad it went well. That was so disturbing.

Wow, she is gorgeous! ??? That person was shamed about her body? Seriously???

Those are SO last year! This year is whether Muslims flush tampons to purposely destroy America's sewer system...

Beautiful...

Hmmm.. why is a NM thread moving to the top?? Had to see... Carry on....

DD loved American Girl magazine. She only recently (at 15-16) switched to Girl's Life, which has more fashion/celebrity kind of fluff. American Girl held her interest for a long time and sounds like it would be perfect for your daughter. ETA, American Girl had crafts, recipes, and inspiring stories about girls. A good variety.

It is difficult. Still illegal in some states. I see why, because when so many people run red lights at the last minute, you are waiting for the oncoming traffic to stop at the red light. If someone runs the red light when you think they are going to stop, you will be hit. And technically, both of you were out in the intersection during the red light. I see why it is illegal (in my state), but yes, you would never get across otherwise in some cases.

If you like a more modern fit, but don't like the low rise that slide down every time you bend over, these are super cute and comfy. Mid rise, skinny jeans, but not so skinny they cut off your circulation, just a slim leg. I have worn them with an ankle boot (very nice!) and also a higher boot. The stretch actually holds its shape. Also come in petite and tall. :) I'm buying another pair! http://www.walmart.com/ip/Riders-by-Lee-Women-s-Heavenly-Touch-Skinny-Jeans/37426844

This sounded interesting, so I looked it up. http://www.professorbainbridge.com/professorbainbridgecom/2012/05/case-law-on-the-fiduciary-duty-of-directors-to-maximize-the-wealth-of-corporate-shareholders.html The original case was in 1916. There were a couple of cases after that though that emphasized director business judgment in the ability to make decisions that would benefit shareholder "long term" rather than "short term". This included philanthropy and altruism. Interesting.

I agree she is having some issues. I will say that I understand her feelings about the messages coming from you instead of your husband. In our family, there is a family member that the wife tried very hard to keep connections with the husband's family. The husband really didn't give a crap, and it was obvious because all the actions were done by the wife. That is NOT the case with your husband, but I see how it could be perceived that way. My take is to still reach out on an occasional basis (to limit the abuse you may receive) but don't give up all together.

Water is not a living, breathing, feeling entity that can be hurt by what we pay for it. I don't think moral values affect water (unless you look at it from people OVER charging for something that is a human necessity). Water is not hurt by undercharging for it, but people *are* hurt by being paid too little for the work they do.

I was understanding you to say that you favored elimination of the minimum wage because the market should determine the worth of a person's work. I think that there is an inherent moral value component when deciding the worth of a person's work. I was suggesting that the market in the past did not display moral values, which is why we have a minimum wage and other safety/ethical work standards that are imposed upon the market. If you believe that the market imposes values on itself, without regulation, then I would feel comfortable arguing that past history does not support that. Please do correct if I was misunderstanding your point.

In Colorado, the law is that you may not enter an intersection that you cannot clear before the light turns red. Therefore, you are not allowed to pull up if the crosswalk is blocked, because you don't know if you can clear the intersection. In Colorado what you did would be illegal. But I probably would have done the same thing. There is one particular intersection close to our house with no left turn signal that if you do not pull up you will basically never get across. I have explained to DD that it is illegal to pull up, but I will still be doing it. If I get a ticket, I won't argue about it.

So weird! I order all the time and have never had a problem. Sorry!

I agree with Chocolate's assessment of this. Employers are not interested in exchanging a "worthy" rate. They are interested in paying the lowest rate possible. If the "going" rate is $15 per hour, but you have a person who has been unemployed for 2 years and they are about to get kicked out of their house who comes in out of desperation and says I will work for $10 to get this job, the employer is not going to say, "No, $15 is what your work is worth so that is what I will pay you." That is why we have immigrants working for "slave wages". When the situation is unregulated, employers will pay the least amount possible. Not a "worthy" amount. They don't want to starve, so they take whatever they are given, whether it truly reflects the nature of the work or not. The minimum wage is a response to the fact that employers (in general, not all) will do whatever they can get away with, not what is worthy or fair. To suggest we go backwards in that area ignores the fact that we were already there and as a society we did not like living with the results of that. A hard core "free market" doesn't take any morality into account. Things are boiled down to dollars only. Maybe your brother should work, not because it makes sense "economically", but because we want to live in a society that values all people and wants to see them have a good and productive life.

This is where I was going in the other thread about rubbing the wrong way. I think it is an issue when a society does not value those things you are describing (staying home with children or caring for an elderly parent) equally to participation in the work force. But if the US waived the right to seek work for single parents with kids under 5, then all the welfare mammas would just keep having babies to get out of working! :glare: Yes. There will always be a small percentage of people who abuse the system. But kids NEED a parent at home especially when they are small. And elderly parents NEED care by people who love them. That is part of a healthy society in my opinion.

OMG that is exactly what would happen! Sort of related, when the government loaned all that money to the banks during the mortgage crisis, and it didn't end up like they thought it would (surprise!), I wish instead they would have bypassed the banks and dealt directly with consumers. It would have made such a difference. It was okay to give it to banks, but not individuals

I think you nailed it right there.