My original post was made more as a generalization. I do usually welcome a chance to explain my faith. But when I want to be social and hang out, I want it to be light and easy, you know? Not always wanting to explain myself. And for the Paganism, I was strictly speaking to Sadie's question. In her scenario it wouldn't a big problem. I suspect in most others it would. Sorry that I can't answer as fully or clearly as I'd like. I'm on my phone and it's tiring to to write! I will attempt to answer back as I can.

Sorry, I didn't do a great job of organizing my thoughts. It would NOT be a sin in the way people assume. My family would not consider it God honoring to participate in it. So while it's not a sin in the 10 commandments kind of way, it's something we try and avoid. Eta- edited for a major typo that might have misconstrued my meaning!

No worries, I enjoy discussing! For my family, it wouldn't be a problem. And I know based on other posts by you, that religion is one of the only things we disagree on, so we would get along well I think. If I can be honest- We would not actively seek out an atheist family to befriend. We don't believe you are the devil or going to hell (don't believe in hell actually!). But because our faith is so much apart of our daily lives, I just don't think it would work. Now, could we have casual conversations and a play date now and then? Sure! But I don't think a deep friendship would be made. I want to point out that this is more on OUR side than yours. You' and your kids would end up making more sacrifices since out beliefs are so far out of the mainstream.

http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/blessyou.asp http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_origin_of_saying_'Cheers'_to_someone_who_is_about_to_drink_alcohol You'll have to forgive my links. But they do give a brief idea as to why.

Sorry In quoting you again! :) If I was on a diet, I'd probably avoid my friend, the pastry chef, and I wouldn't hang out in the candy store, you know. I'd probably spend more time with people who ate like I did or read blogs that focused on healthy living. It's the same with my faith.

Of course not. I'm not implying your family is knocking at my door with Harry Potter fanfic. Sin is more subtle. It comes in through entertainment, language, peer pressure, and even clothing choices. For instance, if we have a couple over and the husband hands us a glass and says "Cheers!" It would be easier to avoid that situation than have to explain why we don't cheers. Or why we don't say "bless you" when someone sneezes. Does that make sense? I guess I just mean it's easier for *US* to avoid situations where we aren't honoring God.

Extremely disappointed this thread isn't about Goat-People. Sigh.

I guess I'll be a lonely voice here. Yes, I do encourage friendships with people of similar values, and that usually means of the same religion. I believe that people outside my religion can have fine values, but there are many things in the world that we view as "deal breakers" for ourselves. For instance, we under no circumstances allow Halloween or occult-like enjoyment in our house. Since there are few people outside of our religion who feel the same, it's just easier to stay within our circle. My children pray before every meal, my daughter particularly feels very strong about it. I'm sure there are Jews or atheists out there who would have no problem with that, and would sit in silence while she prayed quietly. Again though, it's not as likely. I encourage myself to befriend Christians as well, or people of deep faith (regardless of what religion). I am weak, and drawn to sin like all people...so if I reduce the temptation in my life by surrounding myself with similar ideals, I've made my life that much easier.

Thank you. That was my first thought too. But since so many people DO capitalize, I don't want the hiring person to think I'm the one that's wrong.

I'm writing a cover letter and I need help with some grammar and style, particularly capitalization. It's very important I get this job, so my family's future is in the hands of the Hive! ;) Ok, first- Do I capitalize job titles such as Occupational Therapist. The sentence context- "...work with the child's occupational therapist." Do I capitalize my own job title in the sentence "I am an Occupational Therapist." ? That's it for now, though I'm certain something else will come up. Thanks for your help!! ETA- Yep, thought of another. Are learning disabilities capitalized? Dyslexia, for example.

Yes! I agree with this observation. My 18 yo old had beautiful eyes as a toddler, and the kids I work with do too. Those photos look like kids I might see in clinicals. But then, I never see kids that don't have autism these days..unless they are my own.

Oh yes. We are very formal-full suit and tie for the men, dress for the women. My husband made me get a tie for our newborn his first trip to meeting!

Such a good valid point. These days we can start therapy early and intensively. A child that starts off non verbal, tantruming, and aggressive, can move on to a mainstream classroom and to the casual observer be "cured". It's still a difficult thing for people to understand, because like I said earlier, autism had such a grim outcome until very, very recently.

That's not been my experience with diagnosis at all. Here it involves at least one 3 hr evaluation in the home, usually accompanied by a long questionnaire for the parents and teachers. I'm sorry to hear that's not how it is everywhere.

Yes I do. I work with kids with autism. On one street, of about 40-50 families, I have 4 clients. Last week, I had two different people stop me to ask about autism treatments (I have a company logo on my car). I think part of the skepticism of the numbers is because of our old beliefs of what Autism is. Maybe that's not the case for you, Cat, but I know for many others it is. ASD used to be this huge scary thing. Almost like AIDs was. All we ever saw were news stories of shrieking, aggressive kids peeling paint off their bedroom wall and smearing feces. When we collectively calmed down, we saw that autism was much more than that and it is very much a spectrum. While there are children who are totally non verbal, there are also ones that can speak clearly. We also used to think those non verbal ones were just dumb or mentally restarted. Now with PECs and IPads, those kiddos can communicate in really intelligent, meaningful ways. Anyway, what I'm saying I guess, is it's difficult for some people to think a child can have autism if they aren't fitting those old images of it. Sorry this is so long. I've been submerged in autism research about 50-60 hours a week as part of my graduate studies and it's my whole world these days. Also want to point out that the community has been waiting for these numbers for a long time. Many of suspected it would be 1 in 64 at least, so they are not a surprise to most.

A few comments- While it may be common for schools to label, this is NOT what the report counts. Despite some misinformation, ASD actually has very clear diagnosis criteria. With the inclusion of PDD-NOS, it becomes even clearer. I won't say it's *easy* to diagnos! but it's not a guess like it seemed to be in the past. Also, keep in mind we are able to diagnose earlier now. Before, 8,9, even later was the norm. Now, we see signs earlier and get services started. There is also less of a stigma. Affluent white parents are not as reluctant to seek help. IF ASD is something certain people are predestined to have, and IF it's triggered by environmental causes, it makes sense to see numbers go up. Another thing, it is my understanding these numbers are as accurate as they can be, but that many kids are not yet counted in this number because of the time it takes to publish research and report. There are a lot of factors contributing to the rise in Autism. I do not believe over diagnoses is one of them. I do think autism looks different than it once did, thanks in large part to early detection and intensive therapy. So our perspectives need to change to reflect that.

Yes, I am a mandated reporter and I would have to report the use of a belt.

It does very from place to place, but overall our experiences have been wonderful. Our Y days are some of the best memories I have.

I'm 5'5 110lbs. I lift as heavy as I can for as long as I can. I'm only at 12 lbs, but started at 5! Anyways, I've lost 10 lbs just lifting, nothing else...not even diet changes. Big fan of lifting here!

Thank you! We would be renting, and we'd prefer a house over an apartment. I've decided to do more research into this for sure!

I'd love to hear thoughts on the Vancouver area. Safety, suburbs, good/bad. I'd also like any insight on immigrating to Canada, or work visas. I just got word that there is a job (several actually) in Vancouver that'd I'd be well suited for. We have always considered living near the border anyway, so I thought this would be a situation to explore. Thank you!

What the hell is wrong with Amelia Bedelia??

Me too. But sadly the quality has been very poor, particularly for the price.

Actually Reason isn't right winged. In fact, they take issue with many (most?) right-winged propaganda, particularly gay rights..which the contributors and followers heavily favor. The social network following is mostly libertarian with a sprinkle of extreme left and rights mixed in.

Oh wow, did you see they have a 10 week wait? Their stuff must be good quality!